Inner Demons
by RavenColoredNight
Summary: When Raven's demons come back to haunt her, can her friends save her and the Earth? Or will it be the end of both? MAJOR BBxRae Not much else I can say without giving the story away!
1. Author's Note

-Author's Note-

((PLEASE READ))

Okay... I normally don't do author's notes... especially ones that take up whole chapters,but then again I've never done fan fic so big with intention of putting it online.

I've been doing some research on Teen Titans, trying very hard to piece together the old comic book series that I've never had the joy to read. I am going to try now to combined what I know about the comics with the new animated series that I love so much. Of course, it's not going to be right. Of course, it's going to be a bit awkward, but I couldn't reject this story. For that reason, if you know more about the comics than I do, please feel free to tell me about it, but do not get angry or hate me as an author because I got it wrong. I know I'm getting it wrong. It's a FAN FIC, get over it.

Also, be a little patient with me. I told myself that I would never post a fan fic without having finished it first, but this story is just too long. It may be a while between chapters, it may not. Please, hang with me.This story is really good, I swear it is. I put all- well all but one- of my TT Fan Fic ideas into one large one. It will get REALLY serious, though, just a warning. Really serious. If you want something happy, there willbe at the beginning... but after it really gets rolling it becomes horribly serious. There will be murder, blood, actual fighting where people actually get hurt, character deaths (Not necessarily a character on the team, just a character... though I won't give any hints.), and deep depression with thoughts of suicide. If any of this does not appeal to you, then please do not read it. I do not want any bad reviews because people did not heed my warnings. Thank you for giving up your fan fic time to read this stupidly long author's note. I will now let you read something entertaining.

Raven.


	2. Chapter One Which has NOTHING to do wit...

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Teen Titans. If I did, the series would probably not be made for children. Also, I would find it funny to make Slade do a dance in a pretty pink dress during the ending theme. That is why I cannot possibly own the Teen Titans.

-Chapter-One- 

In Which We Discover the Dangers of Undercooked Blorg.

It was a normal day at Titan's Tower. Well, as normal as it can get, anyway. Everyone had momentarily set down their forks. Starfire had just sat down at the breakfast table with a plate full of the jell-o substance that Starfire called "Blorg". Watching her eat something that had once been described as tasting like ice cream and sushi was rather unappetizing. What was even more disgusting than that, though, was how the thing moved.

It was almost as if it were...

This is where the narrator, me, would have said "alive", had the blorg not jumped off of the table. The blorg was, indeed, alive. It made a mad dash for the door, as if seeking sweet freedom. Instantly the Titans jumped from their seats. It was normal for them to fight giant monsters, but not their breakfast. Starfire, with a screech, unleashed a series of green energy bolts upon the disgusting living meal. The blorg screeched and then performed the faint that is so often shown in cartoons. Also like other cartoons, the blorg got the Oscar for best death scene. Starfire then turned to the others and asked"Why did my breakfast receive a little golden man"

The group did not answer Starfire's question, seeing as the blorg had just made a mad dive for the elevator doors. Everyone watched in horror as the blorg escaped. After a moment of stunned silence Starfire simply stated:

"I guess I did not roast it well enough?"

((And so ends the only funny short chapter of this entire fan fic. What does this have to do with the storyline? Well, absolutely nothing. Why did I add it, then? Well… you see… this fic is very serious. I mean VERY serious. So, some comedy at the beginning, middle, and, well… the beginning and middle… well, let's just say it helps. Sooo…. On to the REAL story then, yes?))


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans… well… let's just say you'd know. Obviously, I don't own it. So there.

A/N: The last chapter was just something funny. Trust me, with this fan fic, you'll need the comedic relief. Don't say I didn't warn you… many many times.

-Chapter Two- 

"Raven is missing!" Beast Boy called out, finally catching up with the group.

This hadn't been the ordinary search and take-down mission for the Titans. It had been too similar to be ordinary. Slade had been spotted down town. Now he was nowhere to be seen. They had split up. They searched abandoned buildings, sewers, rooftops, alleys, and streets. He wasn't anywhere. They had lost him without even finding him. Perhaps he was still dead. Still, that doesn't explain the sighting. SOMEONE saw Slade, someone other then a hallucinating Robin. Was this also a fake or… something else.

If this was a fake, then where was Raven?

"Nonsense, BB. If anyone can find Raven, I can." Cyborg announced, bringing up the tracker on his arm. The resulting bleeps were high pitched and quick.

"Hmmm… that's odd… my scanners say that she's…"

"Right here." Beast Boy pulled Raven's communicator from his pocket. The red gem glittered in the starlight. "I told you, she's missing!"

The Titans looked at each other.

"Well if it IS Slade…" Robin began and Cyborg groaned.

"Dude, Robin, don't even start. Slade is dead. Something is up, but it's not Slade. Get over it."

"It still could be Slade! SOMEONE saw him, Cyborg!"

"Who, Robin? Hmm, tell me that? How do you know that some villain didn't make a false report just to bring us down here?"

"To what, kidnap Raven? Why would anyone kidnap Raven?"

Starfire blinked. "That is simple, friend Robin."

"Oh, is it, then tell me. Why would anyone kidnap Raven?"

Starfire gave him a look of 'how could YOU not know?' before explaining. "Well… Raven is very powerful and her powers are not always under control. If a villain could use her lack of control to his or her advantage then they could have a great destructive weapon."

"Yeah, not to mention her demon blood and all!" Beast Boy added and everyone looked at him. This included Cyborg, though his look was more like 'shut up' then confused. Cyborg had also seen Trigon, but he was going to respect her privacy and not tell. Beast Boy gave a nervous grin. He had forgotten that they didn't know.

"Wild guess?" He suggested and everyone sighed in annoyance.

"Get serious, Beast Boy." Robin scolded and Beast Boy laughed.

"Yeah… serious… gotcha."

"Split up again, everybody. We have to double our search efforts! Find Raven!" Robin commanded before yelling his famous phrase: "Titans, Go!"

* * *

Raven's eyes fluttered open. What had happened? Think Raven, think. It had been dark and she was searching. For who? Oh yes, that's right. Slade. She had been hunting Slade. And then what? A hand… a needle… ouch. Raven felt her neck softly. It felt bruised. That was where the needle had been. Her neck. Okay, so far so good. Then what?

After that was this. But what was this?

The walls were padded and white. The door was noticeable only by it's small square window. A padded white room? Wait a minute, what the Hell? She stood shakily and looked down at herself. White. Her outfit was completely white. How had that happened?

It was then that a nurse entered. Her black hair was tied up in a bun just below her nurse's cap. The outfit she was wearing was nothing flashy. Just simple white scrubs and some weird shoes. In her hand was a cup, but of what Raven couldn't see yet. She nodded to some people outside the room who watched the door carefully as if afraid to let the woman go into the room alone.

"Oh, you're awake!" The nurse said as she finally looked at Raven. She smiled brightly.

Raven was thoroughly confused. White room, white clothes, a nurse?

"What's going on here?" Raven asked warily, backing away from the woman as she slowly approached.

"Don't you remember?" The woman asked, stopping in the center of the room as Raven pressed herself into a corner. Raven shook her head and the woman sighed.

"It figures. After the state you've been in, I'm surprised that you're even responding to me."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'State I've been in'?"

The nurse stepped closer and Raven found that she couldn't bury herself into the padding anymore.

"Oh honey…" The nurse began. "You really don't remember, do you?"

Raven shook her head and the nurse began to explain.

"You see… your friends, the Titans… they brought you here. They said that they had lost you. It had been almost two months before they finally found you. Only…"

"Only…" Raven pressed.

"Only you were blabbering on and on, yelling at things and people that weren't there. You didn't see them, didn't respond to them at all. This is the first time that you've interacted with the real world in a long time, Miss Roth."

That can't be right. The needle and then this… there wasn't anything in between! Raven tried to think of what had happened. What could she not remember?

"No… no. I don't believe you. I was looking for Slade and then I was attacked. Then… then there was this. Nothing else."

The nurse sighed. "Oh my." she rested a hand on Raven's shoulder and Raven tried hard to back away, but she had cornered herself. "Hon, you'll have to talk to the therapist about that. You're going to have to face your memories sooner or later, okay? You can't repress these things forever. You need to remember, okay?"

"I didn't repress anything!" Raven yelled, shoving the nurse off of her since she couldn't back away. "Don't touch me! You're lying! This is all a lie! Where are my friends? Where are the Titans?"

The nurse shook her head.

"It's been a long time, hon. Since Slade returned… well… No, you're not ready to hear this."

"WHERE ARE THEY!" Raven cried again. This time some of the padding in the floor exploded, small pieces of yellow fluff and white fabric flying up into the air. The nurse backed away, startled.

"No one knows, hon. Slade has taken over the city, it's chaos. Some say that Robin is still fighting crime, but no one knows. They haven't been seen in months."

Raven shook her head. This wasn't right! This couldn't be true! It couldn't! She was searching for Slade and then she was attacked. Nothing else happened! It couldn't have!

"Let me out of here." Raven demanded. The nurse looked back to the people at the door who suddenly seemed to be prepared to enter at the first signs of a fight.

"Hun, I can't do that, I'm not authorized. You can talk to the doctor, if you wish."

"No!" Raven screamed and another piece of padding exploded. The people entered the room.

"Get away from me! All of you! I won't believe you, any of you! It can't be true! It can't! I would know! I would! I didn't repress anything!"

The nurse held her hands up in front of her in defense. "Okay, hon. Please, calm down. You're getting a little out of hand."

Raven felt hot tears rising up in her eyes. She was getting out of hand. Her emotions were going insane. She needed to meditate. She needed to sort this all out. She managed to calm herself down, wiping the tears away before they fell.

"Please, leave me." Raven demanded more than asked. The nurse took a calm step forward.

"You need to take your medication, hon."

Raven's head snapped up and she glared at the woman. "Medication? How long have you people been drugging me?"

"Months."

"WHAT? I don't NEED medication! I NEED meditation! I can't have your drugs interfering with my mind! Do you know how dangerous that is?" Raven sank to the floor, her strength failing her.

"You have to take the medication, Miss Roth. Don't make me force you to."

Raven glared up at the woman. She knelt down to Raven's level and offered a cup of capsules. Raven stared down into the cup. She focused on all of the pills at once and a black energy surrounded them. The pills began to pop and bubble until they were no longer recognizable. The nurse dropped the cup.

"Get out of here. Now. Don't make me force you to." She mocked the nurse with her last remark. The nurse glanced up at one of the other people and they went outside to door to a cart and got another cup. The man handed the nurse the cup and she stepped forward with the other man who pulled a needle from his pocket, popping off the safety cap.

"Now just relax, hon." The nurse said. Suddenly desperate Raven used her powers to wrench the needle from the man's had, embedding it somewhere in the white padding before jumping up, soaring to the ceiling and towards the door. Escape should have been easy. It wasn't. Raven hit something that she couldn't see that spanned from one part of the doorframe to the other. She hit the ground with a cry. So much for that bright idea.

"We've been warned in advance of your powers, hon. We've taken the necessary precautions." The nurse explained.

Raven felt the needle, which the guard had obviously recovered from the fluff, press into her neck and she felt her mind begin to panic.

The needle and then this… the needle… and then… and then… Their story couldn't be true. Her friends… she wasn't… insane… no… not… insane… no…

* * *

"Where is she?" Beast Boy hollered. Manual search had failed them. Even with Beast Boy's blood hound form. Not a trace of her was found. So, Cyborg decided to alter her medical read-outs to be able to trace her energy. They could only wait now, but the scanner wasn't finding anything.

"It's been hours! This thing should've found her by now, right? So? Where is she!"

Cyborg sighed and shook his head. "Something must have changed her energy read-out."

"Like what?"

Cyborg thought about this a moment and then shrugged. "I don't know. Some sedatives or other mind altering drugs like… I don't know… anti-depressants or something. Anything that can alter her state of mind can alter her energy read-out, since her powers are controlled by her mind."

Beast Boy sat down on the couch. "So she's drugged?" Cyborg shrugged.

"I don't know, Beast Boy."

Starfire turned to Robin with a questioning look. "Robin, what is… drugged?"

Robin sighed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Raven woke up to find herself in the white room again. The nurse was gone, but the damage in the padding remained. So it hadn't been a dream. She sighed. What was going on here? She crossed her legs and tried to meditate, but whatever the hell they gave made her dizzy as soon as she tried. She plopped back down onto the padded floor and stared at the nearest wall. She couldn't hang on to a thought. It was so hard to just think. How was she supposed to remember anything if the medication just made her mind slip?

"Unless they don't want me to remember." Raven stated a loud, so as to hold on to the thought. It worked. Saying it out loud helped her think about it. Great, so now she'd have to talk to herself AND try to prove that she's not insane.

"They want me to think I'm insane. That's what this is all about. They want me to talk to myself. They want me to forget. They want me to loose my mind."

She sighed again. So, what could she do about it?

* * *

Beast Boy had begun to pace again and Robin wouldn't sit down. Cyborg was on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Starfire had fallen sleep on the end of the couch closest to Robin. On occasion Robin would uncross his arms to brush hair out of her eyes.

Beast Boy had suggested that they search for her DNA. Cyborg had had to explain that in order to find her by DNA they would have to DNA test everybody in the town. It they were going to do that, they might as well manually look for her again. So, Beast Boy said they should. They didn't. Here they were, waiting for her energy levels to reach normal. The drugs HAD to wear off sometime, right?

"What if they just keep drugging her? What if she has some kind of permanent energy shift? What if she's… OH! We have to go find her! Please, let's search manually again!"

Robin shook his head. "We can't help her in this condition. We all need sleep. Including you, Beast Boy. We can look again tomorrow."

"How can you even THINK about sleeping? Raven is in danger!"

"And we'll do her no good if we're exhausted. Go to bed, Beast Boy."

"NO!"

"As the leader of the Teen Titans… I order you to go to bed."

Beast Boy grumbled and stormed off, the sound of his door slamming echoing down the halls. Cyborg went to his own room, charging himself noiselessly. Robin carried Starfire to her room before retreating to his own.

Beast Boy opened his window a little crack. Turning into a fly, he flew through the small crack and towards Jump City. The others may not be so worried about Raven, but he was and he was going to find her and bring her home.

((Well? Is Raven insane? Am I merely flashbacking to the scenes with the Titans? Or is this happening at the same time? Who would go through all of those pains just to make Raven think that she is insane? C'mon, tell me what you think!))


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans… oh, wait… yes I do! I own half of those little 1 ½ inch tall figurines that they sell with cheesy comic book pages! My little sister owns the other half! Oh… and I have 3 of the old comic and 1 of the new comics… but other then that, no I do not own Teen Titans.

A/N: Wee.

-Chapter 3-

"Where the Hell is that vegetable face?" Cyborg asked when Beast Boy didn't show up for the morning's meeting. "I already knocked on his door and all, he should be awake."

"Starfire, could you go check on Beast Boy?" Robin asked and Starfire nodded, floating down the hall to go check on her friend.

She returned with news that they all expected. "It seems that friend Beast Boy has left. His window was opened a bit."

Robin and Cyborg both shook their head.

"So, now we have two missing people on our hands. Great."

"Not necessarily, Robin. Beast Boy still has his communicator."

* * *

"Raven? Raven can you hear me? Wake up! Wake up, Raven!"

Raven's eyes fluttered opened. It was bright. The room was still white. She had heard something, what was it? Oh, yes. She had heard Beast Boy. Wait. Beast Boy?

"Beast Boy?" Raven whispered. Why did she think hearing him was impossible? Slade… something about Slade… oh yeah. Slade took over Jump City and the Titans went missing. So why is he here? Is he here?

"I'm right here, Raven! Hurry, Slade is-"

"Slade?"

"Yes! He's real, Raven! He's alive! He attacked me and… just come on, Raven! Stand up!"

Raven tried to stand. She stumbled and fell into Beast Boy's arms. At least he was real. How long had it been? Why couldn't she think?

"Beast Boy… I'm sorry… after so long…"

"So long? What are you talking about? Here, I'll carry you. Get on my back."

He help Raven onto his back and began to run down the hall outside of the white room's door. When they left the building he leaned Raven against the wall and reached for his communicator.

"Hang on a moment, I have to tell the others that I found you."

"Why? You all knew I was there, right?"

"What?"

Raven shook her head. "I don't know. I can't think…"

"What happened to you?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

Beast Boy gave her an odd look and pushed the button on the communicator. "Guys, I found Raven!"

Starfire's joyous shout echoed in the background as Robin responded. "Good, now get back here so we can yell at you for sneaking out."

Beast Boy laughed nervously.

"Can you come pick us up? Raven's in no condition to fly, and I can't carry her anymore."

"Not even as a phanty ele?" Starfire questioned and Cyborg began to laugh hysterically. "What?" Starfire asked innocently.

"Uhm… I think she means elephant. Don't worry about it. Cyborg will come pick you up."

"Be quick. I don't know where Slade is now, but I did see him on the way in. We're out of the place where I saw him and all. I don't think he saw me, but… no chances, right?"

Everything was happening so fast. Raven was trying to cling to something. Just one thought, any thought. They all slipped from her. She couldn't think, couldn't grasp a thing. She couldn't even sort out her memories. What was real and what wasn't?

She pressed the palms of her hands against the cold wall as if grasping to something physical would help her grab a thought. And maybe it would… She tried to think of the wall. Something just that simple. She told herself to describe the wall…

She couldn't do it. She sank to her knees onto the ground just as Beast Boy turned back around.

"Raven? Are you okay?" He knelt down in front of her and she looked up at him.

"I don't know. I can't think… Everything's just slipping… Beast Boy this can't… my powers, they…"

Raven stopped. The thought had gone. What had she been saying? How would this effect her power? She had done something to her mind… but who? Why? Oh, yes… medication. Wait…

"Pills… the room…" That thought had gone now, too. She shook her head.

"Pills? So they did drug you! We tried looking for you using your energy thingy… but then Cyborg said that it could be changed if they drugged you 'cause that stuff can mess with you mind and…"

"Yes." Raven said, hastily. "My mind. I can't think…"

"Cyborg can fix that, okay? Don't worry." He placed a hand on her shoulder and she glanced at it a moment… She was unsure whether she wanted it there or not. Either way, the thought was soon gone.

Then a noise came from behind them. Someone was moving. Beast Boy glanced behind him, removing his hand from Raven's shoulder and standing nervously. The something approached them. Beast Boy struck a fighting stance. Out of the shadows stepped Slade.

That was when the T-Car came crashing through the alley, right on time. Slade was not hit by the car. Instead, the martial arts master flipped onto the hood as the car screeched to a stop. Robin was the first one out of the car.

"Slade!" He called and Raven stood shakily behind Beast Boy. Cyborg whined immediately about the dent that Slade had put in the car's hood. Starfire began to charge her star bolts. All eyes were on Slade. And then he vanished.

"Dude… where did…" Beast Boy started. He was interrupted by Raven's gasp. He turned to see her glancing about wildly.

"I heard him…" She whispered as her explanation. No one was there. Slade was gone.

"You can't fight me, Raven." She turned and tried to prepare her powers. The black energy did not surround her hands. Beast Boy began to look about as well. "I heard him." He assured Raven. He reached for her. "Come one, let's just get into the T-Car, okay?

"You can't even think straight, can you?" The voice again. Raven turned. Still no one was there. "Come on, Raven! Let's just get out of here!" Beast Boy urged.

"Slade… but the woman… the other people… who were they?"

The voice came back as a laugh. "You really don't know? Good, then the drugs worked well."

And there Slade was. Raven's couldn't think to attack. She couldn't think to defend herself. She felt two emotions suddenly, drowning out everything else. Rage and panic consumed her. She couldn't think to calm them. She couldn't even think enough to know what happened. She just lashed out.

Red eyes glowed against the pale skin of Raven's face. Dark tentacles licked out from under her cloak and Beast Boy backed up. Fear danced across his eyes. Raven was unpredictable when she was like this. She had made grown villains beg for mercy without effort.

A black tentacle darted towards Slade, missing as he vanished once more. Then Slade appeared again in a different spot. She lashed out at it, too. Tentacles where flying everywhere and Beast Boy kept backing up, trying to avoid Raven's rage as much as possible.

It was then that Slade appeared right in front of him. And then vanished. The black tentacle meant for Slade wrapped itself firmly around Beast Boy's neck.

Fear struck Beast Boy instantly. He was paralyzed. He tried to struggle, but all he could manage was weak and failing. He hit the floor as another few tentacles wrapped around his body and began to pull him in. He found his voice and screamed. Before him lay fears that he had never even imagined. Terrors plagued him, weighing upon him. The air seemed to grow thick with the horror and he choked on it like trying to breath in syrup. He was drowning… drowning in something worse then water. He was drowning in something worse then death…

"Raven, Stop!" That one phrase repeated over and over. Different people blurted out that one sentence over and over and over… Beast Boy's eyes glazed over. Yelling… an apology… then blasts. Starfire had apologized in advance before blasting away at the tentacles Raven had formed. Robin ran after Slade, only to find him gone. Cyborg was trying to shake Raven out of it. Finally he apologized just as Starfire had. He swung a mechanic arm around and buried his fist into Raven's stomach. He didn't want to hurt Raven, so he did it as lightly as he could. It was still enough to knock the wind out of the dark Titan. With a desperate gasp for air Raven's eyes flickered back to normal. She hit the ground, still gasping. The tentacles formed her legs and faded from black to the gray paleness of her skin. Burns from Starfire's blasts covered them, but it was hidden by her cloak.

Robin ran over to Beast Boy, who was curled up on the ground. A sickly pale color of green painted his face. His eyes were distant and only whimpers echoed from his throat.

"Beast Boy? Beast Boy are you okay? Can you hear me?"

There was no response. He continued to whimper, staring at something that wasn't there.

"Sorry about that, are you okay?" Cyborg asked Raven, who had finally succeeded in taking a few deep, but sore, breaths.

"I'm fine." She choked out, which was only half true. Her diaphragm hurt so much that each breath was a throbbing pain, but it would pass. The burns that coated her legs hurt, too, but she didn't want them to know about those. Cyborg nodded, excepting what she said as truth. Why would Raven lie? He went over to Beast Boy with the others. Raven chose this moment to close her eyes. She felt her mind spinning. Everything was spinning. Then it stopped. Everything stopped.

"Cyborg, get Beast Boy into the car." Robin commanded and Cyborg nodded, lifting the paled changeling from the floor. Starfire looked back to Raven.

"Raven, we are leaving now. Are you okay?" There was no response. She stepped over to her friend, who was collapsed on the floor. She shook Raven lightly and when she didn't wake up, Starfire picked her up.

"Robin!" She called, running over to the T-Car. "Robin, friend Raven will not respond, either!" Robin opened the side back door for Starfire. "Just get her in the car, we'll deal with them both in the medical wing."

Starfire leaned in to set Raven down in the center of the backseat, by Beast Boy. That was when Beast Boy reacted. He jumped and pressed himself into the door of the car, trying to get as far from Raven as possible. A loud whimper left his throat and Starfire jumped back in surprise, bashing her head against the door frame and dropping Raven onto the seat.

"Ow…" Starfire muttered, rubbing her head. After the pain went away, she positioned Raven on the side opposite Beast Boy and climbed over her to sit in the center. With that the T-Car took off for the Titans Tower.


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Okay…If you've gotten this far, you've read my other disclaimers. You know what I'm going to say. You know why this is here. Do I need to repeat myself?

A/N: I hate nothing to say, so what are you reading this for?

Chapter 04

"Beast Boy, would you like more heated chocolate beverage with the mellows of marsh?" Starfire asked, taking the empty mug from in front of Beast Boy.

"Yeah, please… thank you Starfire." Beast Boy said, his voice still shaking. He was responsive now, and his color was returning, but he was still rather jumpy. Starfire had been making instant hot chocolate, something she couldn't even mess up. It had helped. It was soothing.

Raven was still in the medical wing. Bandages had been wrapped around her legs to cover the cooling cream applied there for her burns. Robin leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Cyborg looked from the screens over to the Boy Wonder.

"She didn't mean to." Cyborg said, starting the conversation. Robin sighed.

"I know, but it was too close. She could've really hurt him. Or worse."

Cyborg shook his head. "Weren't you the one who once said that we can trust her? Didn't you say that all we need to know is that she is our friend? What happened to that idea? So it was okay when she did this to a villain?"

"Yes!" Robin exclaimed. Cyborg looked over to Raven, who still wasn't awake.

"Maybe we should take this conversation to another room."

"You started it." Robin retorted, returning to leaning against the wall.

"Just wait and hear what she has to say before you judge her, okay?" Cyborg insisted and Robin nodded. Raven stirred. Her eyes fluttered open with a groan and the two other Titans went to the bedside.

"What happened… no… wait…" She closed her eyes tightly and rubbed her forehead. "Tell me what's wrong with Beast Boy first. Is he okay?"

"What do you remember?" Cyborg asked before Robin could speak. Raven groaned again.

"Slade… we're hunting Slade… a needle… then white… a room. It was a white room. There was a woman. Like… a… a nurse? I don't know… it hurts."

Her hands pressed against her forehead. "Anything after that?" Cyborg asked patiently.

"No… nothing after that. What happened? What's wrong with Beast Boy? What did I do?"

She tried to sit up and succeeded. Cyborg looked to Robin, wondering as to who should explain.

Beast Boy sipped the hot cocoa. Starfire sat down next to him. "Are you much better now, my friend?" She asked and Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know… I guess."

Starfire rested a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Raven is normal now, no harm shall come to you. What bothers you still?" Beast Boy shook his head, staring into the hot cocoa, watching the marshmallows swirl.

"I can't really explain it, Starfire. When she attacked me… I had never been that scared in my life. I have these images… this haunting images… they are just imprinted in my eyeballs of something. I can't make any of it go away. I had never even imagined things so horrible in my worst nightmares…" he shivered and took a sip of his hot cocoa. "It makes me wonder WHAT Raven actually is…"

"Raven is our friend, that is what she is. She was not herself before and I am sure that the images will fade in time. Do not fear, Beast Boy. They were only images."

Beast Boy nodded and sipped his cocoa. "I know…" Suddenly he stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. Raven leaned up against the doorway of the living room/kitchen combo room. Beast Boy turned back around and took another long sip of his cocoa. Starfire turned and smiled.

"Oh! Hello friend Raven! Are you well now?" She beamed and Raven nodded lightly. Starfire looked between Beast Boy and Raven for a moment. Then she stood and Beast Boy looked up at her with pleading eyes. She smiled down at him and patted his shoulder. Then she left and Beast Boy couldn't help but feel betrayed. He took another sip of the burning chocolate to warm up the cold that turned his insides.

Raven didn't move from the door.

"Beast Boy… I…" She wasn't even looking at him anymore. She was staring at the ground. She knew he was afraid of her. She could feel his fear creeping up across the edges of her mind. She couldn't ignore it. It was so unlike Beast Boy to be like this. So unlike him to be afraid of his friends. It had truly seemed that, no matter what, Beast Boy would always have been there with a smile and a stupid joke. Not this time. She gulped.

"I'm sorry Beast Boy… Cyborg and Robin told me what… what all happened and I…"

Beast Boy gulped down another swallow of hot chocolate. He had already burnt his tongue, but that didn't matter. He was just trying to keep his insides warm.

"I'm really sorry… I had been drugged, I couldn't control any of my thoughts, which meant I couldn't control my powers… Please…" She trailed off. She felt like she was talking to a wall. She often felt like that when talking to Beast Boy, but this was different. This time it hurt. She shook her head. He wasn't even looking at her. He was just trying to forget her existence. She backed away from the doorway into the hallway. He didn't notice. Silently fighting back her emotions, she left. Beast Boy still didn't notice. He didn't notice until he had finished his hot cocoa. Then he turned around and nobody was there. With a sigh of relief he stood and then realized that his tongue felt like it had been roasted over an open flame. He quickly fixed himself a cup of water to remedy this.

Raven hugged her knees to her chest, her back pressed against the inside of the door to her room. Beast Boy had been her greatest friend. He had told her that she wasn't alone after Malchior had betrayed her. He had saved her from Adonis out of instinct, even though he had attacked the others. Beast Boy always had tried to make her smile and now… Now it seemed as though she could just fade off of the Earth and he'd never notice, never care. She wanted to cry, but new she couldn't.

With a sigh she stood and almost fell over. She hadn't realized that her sorrow could weaken her knees like that. She strengthened herself and swallowed a sob. She walked over to her bed before collapsing again. She threw herself onto her bed, burying her head into her pillows. She didn't know WHY she did it, since she couldn't exactly cry into them, but she did.

She felt more alone in that moment then she ever had.

"He'll bounce back." She muttered into the pillows, trying to reassure herself. "I mean, it's Beast Boy. He bounces back from anything. He won't stay afraid of you. Beast Boy would never be afraid of his friends forever." But was he ever her friend? The thought hit her like a block of ice and she felt her entire body grow cold. What if he never was her friend? What if he had only been pretending? What if everything had only been a game to him? Let's see if we can make the emotionless feel. Good experiment. Even greater prank if it worked. Would Beast Boy do that?

She felt the tears gather at the edges of her eyes. "Don't cry, Raven. You can't cry."

That was when the red light flashed and the annoying noise of the alarm echoed through the tower. "Saved by the bell." Raven muttered, but was she? She wiped her damp eyes and put on her emotionless face. The others where waiting in the living room.

((Woo… wow… I just realized how long this fan fic is going to be. I mean… We've only just now gotten started on my brainstorm list! This was only the first… 4 event points? Out of how many? 40? Oh My God! Talk about longest fan fic ever! Think you can handle it? OF COURSE YOU CAN! I mean, seriously people! I don't know how many times I've gotten people Review telling me to continue a perfectly good finished fan fic………… okay….. Why are you looking at me like that? Okay, Okay! So I've only finished ONE fan fic. People still tell me to continue it! So. You can handle a nice long, but very action packed and wonderfully emotional story about Raven and Beast Boy, right? Right. Good. Review.))


	6. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: … I. Don't. Own. Teen. Titans. For a moment I thought I did… But they sent me to the insane asylum for that and I talked to a therapist. I'm over it now.

A/N: You're trapped.

-Chapter 05-

"Slade." Robin summarized the mission in one word and a weight settled over the team. Everyone nodded heavily. "Titans, Go!" Robin shouted and everyone went, even if they were sure they didn't want to.

The car ride seemed to take forever, even with Cyborg speeding as he normally did. When the ride finally stopped, the doors were slow to open. Slade wasn't out in the open this time. No jumping on cars today. Today they had to go into a building to find him.

"Why would Slade be here?" Starfire asked suddenly and everyone paused outside the building. No one knew. It was just a normal abandoned building, like where Raven was found last time. Was this his new hideout? If so, then why did he let himself be seen now? If he had been hiding so long, then why now? The door swung open as Robin burst in. Slade wasn't there. ((What a surprise, right?))

Raven hung in the back of the group, something which she hadn't done for a while. She just didn't feel like she belonged up there with them anymore. How could she save the world if she couldn't save a friendship? Or, what she thought was a friendship… She shook her head. She couldn't think about this now.

Everyone had their eyes open. Everyone was on watch. Then Raven fell back into thought again. Slade wasn't here, so what else was to keep her from her thoughts? She tried to look away from Beast Boy. She managed that, but the thoughts still came. She tried to focus on finding Slade, but what was there to find? Don't think that, Raven. Last time you thought that a needle went into your neck…

Noise. Someone was behind her. She turned. No one. No one was there. Calm down, Raven. Probably just a rat. She had told that to Starfire once when her own monsters plagued the Tower. She had said that right before the beasts consumed her. She hadn't really been hurt, but still… Raven shook her head. Not the time to think, Raven. Just look.

Too late.

Something cold pressed against her forehead and she looked around wildly. There was still no one there. Then what…? Raven touched the gem on her chakra in wonder. Around the gem was something cold and solid. Something metallic. She looked around again. How…?

Another noise, a laugh. This time everyone heard it. Still there was no one. Raven tried to call up her powers, but the black energy would not surround her fists. She couldn't feel her powers lurking in her mind. Her hand went back up to the metal. What the Hell had happened?

"Uhm… guys?" Raven said and the Titans turned to her. Her fingers still rested on the metal. They noticed it quickly that way.

"What is it?" Robin asked, turning to Cyborg. Cyborg ran a scan and shrugged. "No clue." He summarized. "Iron?"

"When did that happen?" Robin asked.

"Just now." Raven said. "I can't summon my powers now."

"How did that happen?"

Raven shrugged. "That's what I'd like to know. There was no one here. No one."

"Well, it seems there was someone."

"Tricky illusionist." Raven muttered, letting her hand fall to her side.

"Or Slade with new technology."

Raven didn't want to argue. She just shrugged. Poor Robin, jumping to Slade again. Best to let it be. It's better to not get in front of a boy who knows kung-fu and his obsessions.

But what would Slade want with Raven? It just didn't make sense to her.

"Let's get out of here." Cyborg said as a sort of suggestion. Everyone waited for Robin's approval.

"Good idea, Cyborg. We're not prepared for his new technology right now and we can't afford to let him have this advantage."

Any excuse seemed a good one. As long as they got as far away from the invisible… whatever.

"Are you okay, Friend Raven?" Starfire asked, concerned. Raven nodded. She had almost expected Beast Boy to ask her. She had expected Beast Boy to be concerned. She felt as though she had swallowed ice. He wouldn't care about her ever again. He was afraid of her. He could care less about her.

"I'll be okay, Starfire. Just a bit shaken. I'm sure it's nothing serious." Starfire nodded and left. Raven walked rather quickly out behind them. The car ride back was quiet. An eerie feeling hung over the Titans like a bad smell that clung to their clothes. There was something that they couldn't shake. This caused the silence. This unspoken discomfort was mutually understood by the entire group. Not even Starfire tried to break the silence.

Things returned to normal rather quickly as soon as the Titans hit the Tower… well, almost normal. Everyone was chatty again. They were safe in their Tower, perfectly safe. Now that they were safe, Cyborg insisted on trying to get the metal thing off of Raven's chakra in hopes to help her regain her powers.

He tried to pull it off.

He tried to saw it off.

He tried small drops of acid.

And he tried a blow torch.

He only succeeded in singeing Raven's hair.

"I'm sorry, Rae, it won't come off." He said at last, collapsing on the couch. Raven sighed and shrugged. Starfire seemed to ponder the predicament, finger on her chin.

"Wait, so… does the absence of your powers mean that your emotions may be expressed without the explosion of many an item?" She asked innocently and Raven blinked. Did it? Could she feel now?

"Even if it did mean that, Starfire, I wouldn't express my emotions. Whatever this is, the control is in the hands of the enemy. If I were to express my emotions, and suddenly got my powers back in a great surge, then who knows what damage it would cause?"

She almost expected Beast Boy to jump up and demand that she express her feelings. She almost expected him to immediately try to make her laugh. She almost expected him to care about what happened to her. He was playing a video game, pretending she wasn't there. She turned back to Starfire and shrugged.

It wasn't long before it was all forgotten. Beast Boy couldn't focus on the game he was loosing. Cyborg was laughing at his pathetic racings skills, but Beast Boy couldn't hear him. His mind was too busy fighting. He didn't want to be afraid of Raven. He had spent so long trying to get to know her. For so long he wanted to make her smile. He wanted to return to that. He wanted to be her friend again. Still… the images… Game Over flashed on the screen, announcing Cyborg the winner for the 5th time in a row. He restarted the race.

Would Raven even want him back? Did she ever consider him a friend? Maybe she was enjoying the silence. Maybe she preferred that he avoided her. He lost again, in record time. Cyborg bopped him upside the head.

"Hey grass stain, what's wrong with you?"

Beast Boy shrugged and put down the controller.

"I dunno…"

Cyborg gave him a disbelieving look. "Is it about Raven?"

Beast Boy nodded.

"Then maybe you should go and talk to her. It would be much better then sitting here and loosing to me."

Beast Boy thought about it. Then he decided against it. Why bother Raven? She was probably happy without him bugging her. If he started talking to her again, would she be mad at him? What would he do if she freaked out again?

Beast Boy fixed himself a cup of hot cocoa… again…

Raven tossed her pillow into the floor. She didn't know why she did it. She just felt like throwing something. It hurt less to be angry. That thought scared her. She hugged her other pillow to her chest. What if she turned all of this sorrow into anger? She'd lash out again! She hugged the pillow tighter. Better to be sad and hurt, then to be angry and hurt others, right? She flopped back onto the pillow-less bed and rolled over onto her side, cuddling with the pillow as if it were a stuffed animal. She buried her head into the cloth-covered fluff. She wanted to cry. She wondered if she COULD cry now, being that her powers were, for the moment, gone.

Maybe it would be good to cry. She still fought it out of habit. Tears welled up, hot in her eyes. Maybe just this once… Just to be able to cry… Once. She buried her head deeper into her pillow as the tears poured from her eyes.

"I'm cutting you off." Cyborg said, snatching the cocoa from Beast Boy. "You can't just drown your sorrows in hot cocoa, man! Talk. To. Her."

Beast Boy jumped onto Cyborg, grabbing for the box of cocoa. "You can't do this to me, you trash can!" Beast Boy objected as Cyborg pushed him away with his free hand.

"I can and I am. Now go talk to Raven and get over this." Beast Boy sulked away. He pondered talking to Raven… he stared at her door. He didn't want to be afraid. So, why not? He gulped and lifted his hand…

Beast Boy shut the door to his room behind him and plopped onto his bed. "Why can't I just knock on the door and talk to her?" he asked the air. When no one responded he curled up with a teddy bear that was under a layer of dirty clothes minutes before.

((oO What are you reading me for? I have nothing to say!))


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Finally! I now own all of the Teen Titans! MUWAHAHAHA! Just Joking. Now read the fan fic.

-Chapter 6-

Starfire laughed nervously. The Titans stared at the hallway. Green toxic looking goop was slowly eating through the metal walls.

"Starfire… what did you do?" Cyborg asked with exhaustion.

"Well… I was cultivating the fungus to create some blorg and…"

"Never mind, Star. I don't want to know."

Everyone continued to look at the horrible mess. The entire wing of the Tower was contaminated. Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy were all now room-less.

"Where will we all sleep tonight?" Starfire asked innocently. Cyborg grinned mischievously.

"I get the couch! Which means that you guys have to double up! Which means that Starfire can sleep with Robin and Beast Boy can…"

Robin blushed. "Wait, what? Are you just giving my room away?"

Cyborg nodded. Starfire smiled at Robin, who blushed again. Well… now that that was settled.

"That means that we just need to find a place for Beast Boy…" Cyborg looked at Raven.

Raven raised an eyebrow. She looked at Beast Boy, then at Cyborg. With a sigh she took the bait. Maybe it would be a good chance to talk to him. "Beast Boy can sleep in my room." Raven offered. Cyborg smiled. Beast Boy gulped.

"Well, it's settled! Time for bed!" Cyborg practically skipped away. Starfire had just given him the power to do what he had always wanted to do: Set up his best friends.

Raven slipped into a long black night gown. Beast Boy still hadn't come to bed. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the clock. Did it take him this long to find a pair of Robin's pajamas that fit him?

She heard Cyborg. Oh, so Beast Boy was trying to avoid her by trying to get Cyborg to let him sleep in the living room. Well, that boosted her confidence. Not.

More time passed. She tapped her foot. So much for talking. Was he even going to sleep tonight?

Tap. Tap. Tap. No Beast Boy. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The door slid open. About Time! Beast Boy slid the door shut. She watched him take two steps in and stop.

"Uhm…"

"You can come sit down, Beast Boy. I'm not going to bite."

Beast Boy laughed nervously and stepped over to the bed. He didn't sit down, though. Raven sighed. "I'm not going to bite." She restated. Beast Boy still didn't sit down.

"Beast Boy, sit down!" She said, frustrated. Beast Boy sat down. Raven rolled her eyes.

"And you wonder why I always seem mad at you? Anger seems to be the only thing you respond to." Raven crossed her arms and looked away from him. So much for the talk. Beast Boy began to tap his foot.

"God. Beast Boy…" She took a deep breath. She turned to face him and let her words come out softly. "Please, don't be nervous. You're making me nervous." Okay… that didn't turn out right either. At least Beast Boy stopped tapping his foot.

"Uhm… where am I sleeping tonight?" Beast Boy asked, suddenly. Raven blinked. "Here." she responded.

"No… I mean… am I going to sleep on the floor or…"

"The bed, Beast Boy."

"Oh… with…"

"With me, yes."

"Oh."

Raven sighed. This was going nowhere. "Look, Beast Boy… I want to talk to you…"

He turned to her, forcing a smile. "Yeah?"

"Well… it's just…" She sighed again. What a way to talk Raven. Smooth.

"Okay. Beast Boy… I want to be your friend again."

She bit her lip. Beast Boy gave her an odd look. "Who ever said that we weren't friends?"

Raven crossed her arms. "You're afraid of me, Beast Boy."

"I don't want to be!"

"Then don't! I hate it!"

"You do?"

"Yes!"

"Oh."

"What do you mean, oh?"

They were both now fully facing one another. Raven still crossed her arms over her chest.

"I mean… I thought you'd like me not bugging you…"

"Beast Boy, the way you've been ignoring me has been far more than not bugging me!"

Beast Boy sighed. Raven sighed.

"So…" Beast Boy started. "Are you going to… change your mind about the emotion thing? I mean, what you told Starfire today… Have you changed your view on that?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You were listening?"

"Of course! So, are you going to be expressive?"

"No."

Beast Boy frowned. "Oh, C'mon, Raven! This may be your only chance!"

Raven turned away from him and sighed ((Again!)). "Beast Boy… I…"

"Are you going to kill me?" Beast Boy asked and Raven turned back to him.

"For what?" She asked. Beast Boy smiled. Oh God.

"For this!"

Beast Boy pounced, his fingers tickling her sides wildly. Raven had never been tickled before. Likewise she didn't even KNOW she was ticklish! Suddenly laughter echoed across her room in varying tones. Beast Boy laughed along with her. He didn't even know her voice had more then one tone!

"Beast Boy! hahahahaha! Get hahaha! Off haaaaahahaha! of hahahaa! Me!"

Beast Boy did not get off of her or stop tickling her. Her laughter continued to echo across her room as she struggled frantically trying to pry him off of her.

"If I had hahaha! my powers!"

"But you don't!" Beast Boy said triumphantly.

After about ten minutes Beast Boy finally stopped. Raven gasped in gulps of air. "That was so not fair!" She gasped.

"It was hysterical, though."

Raven glared at him and he smiled back at her.

"I'm glad that we're friends again, Raven."

Raven's glare failed. She couldn't be mad at him. It was rather funny, after all… No! No it wasn't. Time for bed.

"Well… maybe we should get some sleep." Raven suggested and Beast Boy nodded.

"Are you sure you want me in your bed?"

Raven fluffed her pillow and gave him a look. "Just don't do anything." She said, returning to her monotonous voice. She snuggled under the covers, tossing the sheets up to her chin. Beast Boy snuggled in beside her and she rolled over so that she was facing away from him. He smiled and turned to face her back.

Maybe tomorrow she would be expressive, just for them. One day couldn't hurt, right?

((heh heh. Okay, I know, I know. Beast Boy jumped from being all "Ahh! You scare me!" to "I'm gonna tickle you!" But seriously, I did have his thoughts in previous chapters. Did I not say before that he wanted to be her friend again? That he didn't want to be afraid? And maybe tickling her was just Beast Boy's way of realizing that she really wouldn't kill him. I have my reasoning. So there.))


	8. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Who are you and what do you want with me? Sue me? You can't sue me! Flees the country and moves to Canada. I don't own the Teen Titans. Eh.

-Chapter 7-

"Raven! Raven, wake up!"

Raven shot into a sitting position and looked around her room frantically. Her eyes landed on Beast Boy and she jumped.

"Beast Boy! What are you doing in my room?"

"I slept here last night, remember? Starfire contaminated my room."

Raven blinked. Oh yeah. She remembered that now. A sigh of relief washed through her.

"What time is it?" She asked. Her room was still dark as usual, so it was hard to tell without looking at the clock. Beast Boy glanced over at the red digital numbers. "Breakfast time." He said and Raven groaned. She was still tired.

"Can I just sleep in?" She moaned and Beast Boy shook his head, grabbing her arm and pulling her back up into a sitting position with much effort. "No! Come on, Raven!"

After a long while of persuading, Beast Boy finally threatened to tickle her if she didn't wake up. She woke up very quickly and went out to the kitchen immediately to fix herself a cup of tea.

Slowly yesterday's events began to unfold in her waking mind. She could feel now. He she decided to let herself feel for one day? Yes, she had. Maybe she should reconsider such a foolish decision. Starfire pounced her, hugging her hard to say good morning. Raven returned the hug. Starfire was stunned, then hugged harder, and then pulled away with sparkling eyes. Maybe feeling for one day wouldn't be so bad. She could do it for the Titans.

The breakfast table was an explosion of discussion. Everyone had seemed to had forgotten about Raven's predicament until she giggled and the breakfast table didn't shatter. She almost covered her mouth with her hand. She stopped. Just one day. She would let herself feel for just one day.

The table went silent and Starfire beamed. "So then, friend Raven, you have decided to feel?"

"Only for one day." Raven said in her serious voice. "Just one day, Starfire. No exceptions. I can't risk it any longer then that, okay?"

One day was enough for Starfire and the rest of the Titans. The table was noisy once more with loud sounds of rejoicing. Raven smiled lightly. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad…

"I know! We should take Raven dancing to celebrate!"

Okay, so maybe it would be bad.

"What?" Raven said in an obvious objection. Beast Boy, who had been the one to make the suggestion (who else) laughed nervously and sunk under the table. Too late. Everyone at the table began agreeing. Their minds were set. They were going to take Raven dancing, whether she wanted to or not.

Raven blinked. There was no way her eyes were going to adjust in here. Just when she was used to the dark, the strobe lights would act up again. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind!" Raven yelled over the pounding music. She tried to cover her belly with her arms. Leave it to Starfire to suggest a make-over before hand. No matter how many times Raven assured herself that it wasn't Starfire's fault that she only had belly shirts… well… let's just say she felt like they hadn't explored the alien's closet enough.

"Can't hear you!" Beast Boy yelled, pointing to his ear in a jabbing gesture as if trying to get his point across. Judging by the smile that spread across his face, he COULD hear her. She frowned. Beast Boy then grabbed her arm and dragged her to the dance floor.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest once there. Beast Boy begun to dance, but she just stood there. Beast Boy stopped and frowned. "C'mon! This might be your only chance to EVER dance!" He yelled and she shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not going to make a fool of myself!"

"You won't make a fool of yourself!"

"HA! So you can hear me!"

Beast Boy frowned and then smiled. "Just dance."

Raven shook her head again. She crossed her arms over her belly as she reminded herself that the shirt didn't cover it.

"I'll tickle you!" Beast Boy said, watching her cover her belly.

"I swear that if you use that threat after this metal thing comes off…"

"I'd be too scared you'd blow me up then! That's why I'm using it now!" Beast Boy said with a large grin. Raven frowned again.

"I don't like that grin!" She stepped back from Beast Boy and bumped into some guy who didn't seem to notice. Beast Boy stepped closer, making it obvious that he would tickle her if he had to.

"Don't you dare!" Raven yelled, backing up through the crowd and getting ready to run. Beast Boy stepped closer. Raven turn and ran through the crowd. Beast Boy turned into a cheetah and pursued her. Her caught her off of the dance floor, by the soda bar. He turned back into a human quickly, tickling her sides fiercely.

Raven fell backwards into a stool before hitting the ground. She tried to scramble away, but Beast Boy kept tickling her.

"Stop!" Raven cried, trying to push him away. "I give! I give! I'll dance!" Beast Boy stopped instantly and stood up, offering her a helping hand. She took it and stood up, gasping to return to normal breathing.

"When I get my power back… I swear…" She said and Beast Boy laughed nervously. She covered her belly with her arms again.

"Oh c'mon, Raven!" Beast Boy objected. "You can't dance like that!" Raven frowned and dropped her arms. "Let's just get this over with." she muttered and Beast Boy dragged her onto the dance floor.

Raven gulped nervously. She still felt as though something would explode. Now that she was sure that nothing would happen, she began to realize how much of an excuse it all was. She was just as afraid of dancing now, with her powers gone, as she was when things would explode. Beast Boy began to dance. If dancing is what you call it. It looked more like he was drowning, only there wasn't any water. Raven shook her head. No way she'd make a fool of herself like that.

She closed her eyes. The color continued to flash through her eyelids. The pounding lights shone through. The music seemed to take the shape of these lights. The music wasn't just sound. It was dancing. She told herself to let go.

The music pulsed through her. She didn't feel herself anymore, just the music. She felt the swirling and the pounding. She could feel the heat of the lights flicking across her skin. Something about the entire thing was hypnotic. She felt the music replace everything inside of her, disconnecting her from reality. It was almost like meditating. The thought amused her. Meditation in motion. She felt the warm pulse of happiness. Why hadn't she done this before?

Oh yes, that's right. Her powers.

"Wow."

Beast Boy's voice drifted in with the music. She snapped out of the trance quickly. She tripped and Beast Boy caught her. She stood up quickly and stepped away from him, smoothing out the pleaded skirt that Starfire had leant her.

"Don't stop!" Beast Boy objected as Raven began to cross her arms over her belly again.

"I danced. You didn't specify for how long."

"But this might be-"

"My only chance. Yes. I know. I'm going to go get some water."

"But Raven!" Beast Boy whined. She sighed. "You said you would express emotions for one day! So drop the act and do what you promised!" Beast Boy yelled in objection as Raven turned to walk off of the dance floor. She turned back to him. He was right.

"I'm sorry Beast Boy… it's just hard…"

"I don't care!" Beast Boy said. "Don't make promises you can't keep!"

Raven frowned. She dropped her arms to her sides again. "Have I told you how much you infuriate me lately?" She asked over the music and Beast Boy laughed nervously again. He figured that she was going to kill him once she regained her power. Then she smiled. Beast Boy blinked, confused. Was that a sarcastic smile or a real smile? He smiled back. She closed her eyes and felt the music. One last time she began to dance.

((I have a theory that the creators of Teen Titans read fan fics. I mean… I just got done watching Birthmark… which reminded me of plenty of fan fics I read. I mean… gee… I even wrote about Slade coming back for Raven! Only one thing… I promise this case is MUCH different. Don't ask, I've already answered your question. Confused? Good.))


	9. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans! Oh, and the song belongs to Avril Lavigne.

A/N: Hey, if the creators of Teen Titans are reading this, please use any one of my ideas! That way I can point and let my jaw hit the ground and go 'oh my God! I wrote something like that!' and then turn to my little sister and say 'Ha! I told you it could happen!' Yeah. Thank You. Now please make more Teen Titans so I can continue my pathetic obsession.

-Chapter-8-

"I'm never doing that again." Raven said as they entered the Tower. Beast Boy ignored her and continued telling the other Titans how awesome Raven's dancing had been.

She rolled her eyes. And smiled. Okay, so it felt good. Beast Boy was happy, everyone was laughing and smiling. She could still feel the music lingering in her. Then she remembered that it was only temporary. Her fingers went up to touch the metal that was in a band across her forehead and around her jewel. Her smiled faded and she sighed.

She let her hand drop to her side. Suddenly the laughing of the others seemed so distant. She broke away from the group and headed to her room.

"Hey, Raven!" Beast Boy began. He frowned and sat down. Starfire got a disappointed look that was very out of place for her.

"Will friend Raven not stay and be expressive with us?"

"Why don't you go ask her?"

Starfire pondered this option, then she cheerfully agreed.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven muttered monotonously. She couldn't let her guard down. She needed to force her emotions back before something bad happened. She didn't know when she'd get her powers back. Best to be prepared than surprised.

knock knock knock!

Raven moaned. She touched the floor and walked over to the door, sliding it opened. Starfire smiled through the doorway.

"Hello, friend Raven! I have just arrived to ask you if perhaps you would join us. It is not yet the end of the day, and we would like to see you before you regain your powers."

Raven sighed. "Starfire… I…"

"Oh please, my friend? It would make us all so very joyous!"

"I don't think…"

"Please? This might be…"

"My only chance! I get it! Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Perhaps because it is the truth?"

She was right. Raven stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. Starfire embraced her with enough alien strength to crack bone. Raven attempted to return the hug, but found that she couldn't breathe.

"Starfire… please…" Starfire squeaked an apology and let go. Raven gave her a small, soft hug. Starfire squealed and Raven flinched. She soon found herself being dragged back into the living room.

"What activity shall we force you to do now?" Starfire asked cheerfully as they entered the living room. Beast Boy looked at them both over the back of the couch and Cyborg and Robin smiled from where they stood.

Raven groaned. "Starfire I don't want to be forced to do any-"

"Oh I know!" Starfire clapped her hands together. "Perhaps you can join me in the singing of the Tamaranian song of Joyous Occasions!"

"No!" Said everybody all at once. Starfire blinked.

"So then we shall not force our friend Raven to sing?"

The other Titans smiled. Raven cringed. "No! No! No! I will not…"

"That's a great idea, Starfire! Karaoke night!"

Raven turned to leave, but Starfire grabbed her arm cheerfully. "Oh, yay! We shall now be forcing you to participate in a night called Karaoke! What is karaoke?"

"I'm not singing!" Raven protested, but soon all of the other Titans had her. The entire team pushed her in front of the couches.

"I already danced! I won't sing!"

Cyborg toted out a dusty karaoke machine. "C'mon, Raven!" Cyborg said, setting the machine down. "We haven't been able to use this baby, yet!"

Raven shook her head wildly. "I can't sing!"

"Oh? Just like you couldn't dance?" Beast Boy said with a grin. Raven blushed. "Was I really that bad?"

"No! You were wonderful! I'm saying that you thought you'd be bad, but you weren't… so now since you think you can't…"

Raven shook her head some more. "I'm not singing!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"I can still tickle you, you know!"

Raven glared at him and the other Titans laughed. "I despise you." She hissed and he ducked behind the couch. Cyborg handed her the microphone.

"Pick a song, any song." Raven took the microphone, frustrated. "This is so pointless."

"Keep complaining and we'll make you sing more than one song!"

Raven took a look at the song list and cringed. "They are all pop songs!" She whined.

"Ha! You complained! Now you'll have to sing more than one!"

Raven opened her mouth in protest before hastily shutting it again. She frowned. She lowered her eyes back to the song list. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She muttered. She punched in the right numbers and the song began.

"I can not find a way to describe it.

It's there, inside. All I do is hide.

I wish that it would just go away.

What would you do, you do if you knew? What would you do?"

Raven had never heard her own voice sound like this. She had forced such a steady tone that she had forgotten that she could hit other notes. Everyone was smiling. Was she that good?

"All the pain I thought I knew  
All my thoughts lead back to you  
Back to what was never said  
Back and forth inside my head  
I can't handle this confusion  
I'm unable; come and take me away"

It was such a fitting song. Every line struck her. Even that one, 'all my thoughts lead back to you'… but who? Oh, she knew who. Even so, she couldn't help but hide it from herself. She ignored it. Just sing, Raven. Just sing.

"I feel like I am all alone  
All by myself I need to get around this  
My words are cold, I don't want them to hurt you  
If I show you, I don't think you'd understand  
Cause no one understands…"

She closed her eyes, much like she had done with the dancing. It didn't help this time. She needed the words to the song. Too late, she missed the chorus. She set down the microphone.

"I can't do this." She muttered. The other Titans let out noises of disappointment.

"It's okay, Raven. You missed a cue, that's no problem. Just pick another song…"

"It's not the song, it's the singing! I can't sing!"

Beast Boy frowned. "Can too."

"Can not!"

"Okay, cut it out, kids." Cyborg said with a humorous fatherly tone. They both ignored him.

"I can't!"

"Yes you can! You were amazing!"

"That's not what I mean!"

"Go pick another song!"

"No!"

Starfire stood up. "Friends! Please do not argue!"

"We ALL want to hear you sing!"

"What Beast Boy says is true! We all wish that you would…" Starfire attempted to calm the discussion again.

"But I don't want to sing, okay!"

Starfire sat back down sadly. Robin put his hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Cyborg screamed and everyone fell quiet. "Look! Raven doesn't want to sing, so let's not force her! Raven, we would ALL like to hear you sing! Now shut up!"

The silence continued. Raven was suddenly aware that she was still wearing the outfit that Starfire had given her. She crossed her arms over her bare belly again. "One more song." she muttered. Hearing everyone cheering her on did make her want to smile. She wouldn't smile, though. She was mad. They were forcing her to do this. Even so…

"I don't know what to sing. Pick a song for me." She slid the song list to the Titans and they pounced on it like vultures. She smiled watching them argue over which song she should sing. They really liked her this way, didn't they? They enjoyed watching her sing and dance, just like the rest of them. Once again she found her hand rising to touch the metal band.

How is it that Slade… or whatever that thing was… could create such a thing? How is it that whoever it was knew how to control her powers, when even she didn't? Could they make something like this permanent? The thought surprised Raven. She hadn't thought it with fear, but with hope! Why would she want to just wish her powers away? She used them to protect her friends! She used them to belong with her friends…

No. She wanted her powers back. She needed them back. She let her hand fall away from the metal band. The Titans turned to her with a smile.

"Sing this one!"

((Blargh. Urhm… I think I had something to say, but I forgot what it was. Okay. Uhm. Thanks for reading! Please keep doing so! Bai!))


	10. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

A/N: Uh-oh… I better hurry up and put this up before some of these new episodes! I hope my story still seems somewhat original after they air!

-Chapter 9-

Raven clutched her cloak tighter around her body. The wind blew her hood off of her head.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself out loud, her violet eyes tracing the outline of the building. This was where they were when she lost her powers. She took a deep breath and a step forward. She needed to find out how Slade -or whoever- restrained her powers. She ran forwards to the building, not looking back.

The walls of the building offered a warm shelter from the wind. She took a nervous gulp of air. The lights in the building clicked on with loud noises. She pressed her back against the wall. This was it. Slade appeared from nowhere and stepped forward.

"Hello Raven."

"Drop the act!" Raven yelled, stepping forward. She couldn't be afraid now. "I know you're not Slade! Show your true self!"

The vision of Slade seem to melt into a vanishing puddle on the ground. Stripped of the illusion, a girl smiled back at Raven with blood-red lips. Black hair waved across one of her eyes and ended in curls down her back. Golden eyes gave her an odd cat-like appearance. The outfit she was wearing was in odd shades of bright green and purple, giving her a jester-like appearance. She tossed her hair from her other eye and put a black gloved hand on her hip.

"I knew you'd figure it out. Your pathetic friends on the other hand…"

"Who are you?" Raven asked loudly, interrupting. The girl pouted in irritation.

"What, you don't recognize your own sister?" She shifted, stepping forward. "I suppose you wouldn't. Not even Daddy knows I exist. All the others died."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Trigon. Do you really think that your mother was the only one? All his other kids died, except for me. I'm his FULL DEMON child and you are the pathetic half-blood."

Raven tried to call her powers before realizing that they were still gone. Suddenly she didn't feel too good.

"What, out of questions? Come on, Raven. Surely there are some things that you'd like to know."

"How did you block my powers?"

"What, you don't even want to know my NAME? Fine, have it your way. I blocked your powers using a simple dark spell. That and your own desire. You see, you on some level, WANTED your powers gone. Without that want, I would have never succeeded. How do you like your powerless life? Hmm? Have you been accepted?"

Raven was silent. She couldn't trust this girl. How could did she plan on fighting her if things went wrong? Why did she come here all alone? No. It was her fight. She couldn't drag the Titans in. Could it be considered a fight, though? Where everything stood right now, it would be more like laying down and giving up then a fight. The girl smiled again.

"My name is Sade, since you haven't asked yet. I have a deal for you. That's all. Just a deal, so calm down. I wouldn't have gone through all of that trouble if I just planned to kill you, now would I?"

It made since. Even so, this deal didn't sound too safe either. Any deal worth all of this effort must be a bad one to make.

"I'm not interested." Raven snapped. Sade's smile didn't fade.

"Oh, but I think you are. It's simple, really. You want to be accepted, don't you? You don't want Trigon breathing down your neck, ruining your life. I can take it all away, but only if you agree."

"No!" Raven screamed, shaking her head wildly. She reacted so violently because she knew that she would. It was why she came here, so why would she turn back now? And yet here she was, fighting to keep the powers that she had longed to be rid of.

"What do you have to loose?" Sade yelled back. Raven shook her head.

"I use these power to protect my friends and this city! If I give my powers to you, then you'll use them for destruction!"

Sade raised an eyebrow in amusement. "How do you know that? I'll use your powers to gain Daddy's attention, then I'll just go to Hell and become heir, that's all. I'm not going to harm your pathetic Earth."

She saw the Titans laughing, smiling. She felt herself dancing. She heard herself singing. Sade wouldn't hurt the Earth. What did she have to loose? Nothing. She had nothing to loose. Even so, it felt wrong. She was afraid. Afraid like she had been before she danced. Afraid like she had been before she sang. Good came out of getting over those fears. Maybe good could come from this, too.

Raven took a deep breath. And the door to the building fell in.

"Shit!" Cursed Sade as she vanished. The Titans flooded into the building, ready for a fight. Raven slid down the wall, sitting on the floor. What had she been about to do? How could she have just given up her powers like that. Her hand when up to her forehead. That was no metal there. Raven had a feeling that there never was. The metal was probably just a clever illusion used to disconnect the whole ordeal from suspicions of magic. She summoned her powers and they came, black energy swirling around her fists. She let the power disappear as the Titans surrounded her.

"What happened, Raven?"

"Why did you run off like that?"

"Do you realize how much danger you could've gotten into without your powers?"

"Friend Raven, where is your metal restraining device?"

Raven stood up. "I'm fine. The restraint is off. I can use my powers again." She could tell that Beast Boy's and Starfire's smiles were forced. She frowned. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to go home and meditate." Everyone nodded. She couldn't help but feeling like the connection she had made with the others in one day had been so suddenly cut. She was distant again, an outcast. She let the others walk out first, but Beast Boy refused to go.

"You know what?" He asked, thinking out loud. "I think that I like you better this way. It means more when you smile. I'd like to make you smile with meaning." Suddenly the distance between the two didn't seem so far. Beast Boy was right. It was better this way. Her powers were a part of her. Without them, who would she be?

Or more importantly, what would she become?

((Wee.))


	11. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, and it is getting oddly redundant saying that.

A/N: Okay. It's about to get dark. Last chance to run. WAIT DON'T GO! I was joking! Please don't leave me! I can't be a good fan fic author without loyal readers! Sobs!

-Chapter 10-

Raven choked, holding back her scream. Her room was a mess and sweat was pouring down her face. She shivered and pulled the covers up to her chin. Something warm dripped down her forehead. She lifted a hand to touch her gem. Around the gem was something hot and wet. She touched it and looked at her fingers. It was hard to see what it was in the dark.

Raven used her powers to turn on the dim light by her bed. The hot liquid on her hand was red. Blood. Blood was dripping from her gem. She jumped from her bed.

"No… no no no no no!" She lifted her mirror, looking at her reflection. The mirror was blank. She set it down. What was going on? She needed to meditate. After that nightmare…

She shook her head. Don't think about it. Close your eyes and…

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

"Of all mornings for Beast Boy to play rooster." She muttered, cringing. Better get her herbal tea before the breakfast rush started. She stood and left her room, heading for the kitchen.

* * *

Raven shot up, jumping out of her bed. That nightmare again. She looked at her clock. Same time. Beast Boy would be wanting to wake her up soon. She threw her cloak over her shoulders and pace the length of her room. She felt the blood on her forehead.

"I won't let it happen. I won't." She muttered as she paced. "It was a nightmare, nothing more. It won't happen. It can't." Still the feeling loomed over her. Something was wrong and she knew it.

* * *

How many nights would this horrible vision plague her? She hugged her knees to her chest. It was different tonight. Much different. She looked at her hands, although she didn't want to. She bit her lip and jumped up from the bed. She threw her cloak over her shoulders and headed to the bathroom. She had to clean up before Beast Boy decided to wake the tower. It scared her how calm she was.

* * *

"Not again." She muttered, staring down at herself. She marched over to her mirror and gazed down into it's surface. Yellow eyes blinked back up at her.

"Quit playing your games!" Raven snapped.

"It's no game." Said a warped version of her own voice. "Even if it were, I wouldn't be the one playing it."

Raven flinched. She didn't want to know. "Whatever is happening, I want it over!" The face smiled back at her.

"Well then quit talking to me. I can't stop it. You know who can. Quit running."

Raven turned and stormed off. She needed to shower before the others woke up.

* * *

Raven felt the tears streaming down her face. She couldn't run anymore. It wasn't a nightmare. It was true. It wasn't her. It was Trigon. She looked down at herself, trying to choke back the tears.

"What have I done?"

* * *

This time she awoke before she got home. This time when she woke up, she wasn't in bed yet. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her cloak and roughly hitting the ground. Tears streaming from her eyes and the streetlights exploded. Darkness covered the horrible vision. Even so, the warmth of the blood was fresh and dripped across her skin. She couldn't run… or could she? She swallowed the taste of blood that lingered on her tongue. She had to get back to the Tower. Now.

She couldn't move. Wherever she was, it wasn't in her body. She had sunk inside herself in shock. In order to run, she had backed into her own mind. It didn't happen. It couldn't have happened. It's only a dream. Only a horrible nightmare. Raven stood, still disconnected from her own body. She needed to get back to the Tower so she could wake up. She needed to wake up.

Raven stumbled in, still hiding inside herself, hiding from the truth. She didn't want to see what she was doing. She just wanted to get to the shower before everybody started to...

"Raven"

Every bit of Raven froze. She snapped out of her trance-like state and for the first time since the act she SAW. She saw Beast Boy lean over the back of the couch, trying to see her in the dark. Then she saw him stand, walking around the couch. She backed up into the sliding elevator doors in a sudden burst of fear. He clicked on the light. Raven felt her world collapsing. It was the end. After they found out what she did... She never wanted to cry so badly. Then she heard Beast Boy gasp.

"Raven, what's wrong? Are you okay? You're covered in blood"

Raven took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I'm fine Beast Boy... I just need to go wash up, okay"

Beast Boy nodded and Raven passed him. Raven felt relief pass over her. He had thought it was HER blood. She had gotten worked up over nothing. It was simple... too simple. Why didn't he suspect her?

Did he trust her that much? What had she done to earn that trust?

She leaned over the edge of the tub and turned on the water. After letting it grow warm she turned another knob, turning on the shower. She didn't even bother to take off her clothes when she stepped into the tub and pulled the curtain. She watched the red of the blood spiral down the drain. She couldn't hide what she had done forever. She looked up into the jets, letting the warm water pour over her face. It was only a matter of time before...

The loud boom of the alarm interrupted her thoughts. The entire Tower should be awake now. She ran her fingers through her hair to brush out the last of the blood amongst the strands. The water was still pink as it

spiraled down the drain, but with any luck they wouldn't notice. Raven hopped out of the shower, toweling herself off and wringing out her drenched cape.

Beast Boy was the first to notice her as she entered the room. He had this look of sorrow on his face. Raven looked at him, stunned, then up to the screen. Raven's already pale skin paled at least ten shades more. On the screen were images of a crime scene.

A murder scene. The cops had decided to hand the case over to the Titans immediately. Obviously the murders where done by a monster and monsters were the Titan's area, not the police's. Raven bit her lip. She looked back at Beast Boy. He was still staring at her, but he was silent. He knew. She shook her head as if to say 'not me', but she knew it had been her. Beast Boy blinked and looked at the ground. Robin was barking orders, but they weren't listening.

"Titans, Go" Robin cried as he ran towards the door. Starfire flew after him. Cyborg stopped briefly to look at Raven and Beast Boy.

"Didn't you hear Robin? Come on, guys" With that Cyborg ran off, and Beast boy looked back up at Raven.

"It wasn't a coincidence, was it? You come in, covered in blood, and then the alert..."

Raven shook her head as Beast Boy's sentence trailed off.

"No." She said in an attempted protest, but it only came out as a whisper. "I didn't... I..."

Beast Boy stepped towards her and she took a step back.

"Raven..."

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy... Please don't tell the others..." She had never heard her voice like this before. She had never heard it so full of emotion. It was soft, shaking, like whimper. Everything she ever loved was dangling on this string. If what she had done got out she'd be arrested. Her friends would hate her. She would never be a Titan ever again...

"I'm not going to tell! Robin would freak" Beast Boy said, as if it where outrageous to even suggest that he would tell. "Besides, I don't think you did that."

Raven blinked, stunned. "You don't"

"No! I KNOW that you wouldn't do anything like that, Raven. Your father on the other hand..." Beast Boy let his sentence trail off before picking up again with another. "I've seen you freak before, Raven. I've seen it enough to know that that rage isn't really YOU. It's something IN you, like the Beast I have in me."

Raven nodded, thankful. She didn't have to explain for once. He understood. For once Beast Boy actually UNDERSTOOD something. No headaches, no round about explanations, he just understood.

"I don't know what happened, Beast Boy! I went to bed, I was asleep! I closed my eyes... and when I opened them again I had... I had..." Raven held back tears. She needed to meditate... She needed to meditate NOW. Beast Boy stepped forwards and this time Raven didn't back away.

"Calm down, Raven. It'll be okay. Look, I know that you'll figure it all out, okay? I won't tell, I promise."

Before Raven knew what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around the green boy's shoulders, hugging him thankfully.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." She pulled back, looking him in the eye. "It won't happen again, I promise. I'll sort this all out, okay"

Beast boy nodded. "I know you will, Raven."

Raven gave a weak fragment of a smile. Without another word, she turned and went to her room. She needed to meditate now more than ever.

* * *

"Ouch" Raven grabbed her head and felt something warm there. It never hurt to meditate, so why would it now? She pulled her fingers from her forehead and looked down at the tips in wonder. Blood rested there, smeared into the cracks of her fingerprints. She wiped at her forehead again. Her jewel was bleeding? Again?

Raven walked calmly over to her mirror, staring down at it in wonder. A drop of blood fell from her red jewel and hit the reflective surface softly. The mirror shimmered and slowly her reflection faded. Still calm, she watched the face of her nightmares appear in the cool surface. Her father glared back at her through her own mirror.

"You will free me, Raven." Trigon hissed confidently.

"I won't." Raven said, with just as much confidence.

"Vui yer la za, Raven." Trigon hissed again, reverting to his native language. This is when Raven began to grow scared. The Trigon in her mind never spoke Trigon's native language. It took effort for Raven to

speak and understand it, so she'd never think in such a language. The Trigon talking to her now... he wasn't anything that she had thought of. She backed away from the mirror, slowly.

"Leave me alone" Raven hissed, threateningly. "I'll have nothing to do with you"

He head was aching. She felt the blood drip from her jewel down her face. A drop fell into one of her eyes and she cringed. Her head and her right eye stung. She continued to back away from the mirror.

"Vui yer la za, Raven" Trigon hissed again.

"Raota za oruha" Raven cried again, in his own language. "E'r kota hucken cu mu yek vui"

This time Trigon only laughed. The burning in her head grew worse. Red filled her vision as the blood poured down her face. She wiped at it, smearing the blood across her eyelids and cheeks. Then her red sight turned black.

* * *

Raven woke with a gasp. She was on the floor, far from her bed. How did she get there? Had she ever gone to bed? Raven touched her head softly. For some reason it was throbbing, like some stabbing pain

that had turned dull with time. Her forehead was sticky to the touch. How weird... why would her head be sticky?

Raven stood and took a moment to steady herself. The world seemed to want to pull itself out from underneath her feet. She stumbled over to her mirror.

Blood... there was blood on her mirror... and on her face... all over her face... Raven stumbled back as the memories flooded back to her. Trigon... the voice... the laughing... the pain... She looked at her clock. It was 5 am. If she hurried, then she could probably wash up all of this blood before anyone else woke up. Again. She left her room, walking down the hall with a calmed step, even if her mind was far from calm.

She slid open the bathroom door and walked over to the sink, turning on the water and giving it a moment to warm up. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Thanks to the blood, her skin seemed to be stained an odd shade of red. Red skin like her father. Red skin like Trigon. Raven splashed the water on her face. She picked up the bar of soap, rubbing it until the lather spilled over her palms. She scrubbed her face with the soap, scratching at the sticky stuff with her nails. She rinsed it all off of her face, watching the colored water spiral much like she had done the night before. She turned off the water and looked at herself again. Scratches marked her cheeks in spots where she had scratched too hard. With a sigh she dried her face off, hoping that the slightly raised red lines would go away before everyone else awoke.

The living room was quiet and empty. It was a perfect time to meditate. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes, breathing her chant. "Azarath Metrion Zynthos... Aza" She fell out of the air suddenly. Her

head hurt. She touched it, but there was no blood. Thankful for that at least, Raven decided against meditation.

Instead she put a pot of water onto the stove and pulled out a packet of tea. That was when she heard Beast Boy announce the morning in his rooster form. Everyone would be waking up soon. Raven wasn't sure she wanted to face them...

((Okay. This chapter was a bit different from all the others. It covered a large span of time, too. Okie dokie. I've got nothing else to say.))


	12. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans! How many times do I have to tell you that?

A/N: Okay. Short chapter. Sorry!

-Chapter 11-

Why was it always so cold here? Raven stared up at the building. Would Sade still be here? She approached the door and entered the abandoned building.

"Sade?" She called out. Her voice echoed off of the darkened walls. No lights clicked on. No voice responded.

"Sister?" She asked, quieter. Saying that scared her for some reason. The idea of Trigon having another child… She shivered and clutched her cloak around her. No response.

"I don't want my powers!" Raven yelled. Her voice sounded so pathetic when it bounced back to her. She shivered again. Sade wasn't here. That would've brought her out.

Raven sank to the ground. "I don't want this to happen." She said softly, but her voice still echoed. "I don't want to kill anymore people." She choked on her words, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Please… Sade… someone… help me…"

She felt the tears rising in her eyes. She just wouldn't sleep tonight. Maybe if she didn't sleep, she could avoid killing another person. She curled up on the filthy floor of the abandoned building.

"I just won't sleep." She said out loud to keep herself awake. "I won't sleep."

Even so her eyes drifted shut. She didn't know what to do. Sleep was an escape before. Now there was no escape. Soon she'd have to face herself. Soon she'd have to face who she was. Soon she'd have to face what she was to become. She sobbed lightly, already broken windows shattering with her power. Her eyes drifted shut. Sleep took her. With it came nightmares.

((Very Very Short chapter. I know. I'll make up for it. Just wait until you see how long the next chapter is!))


	13. Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, it would focus on Raven, simply because her life has so much opportunity to be interesting. Since I don't, I waste my time writing these fan fiction things that I will NOT get sued for. So there.

A/N: If you haven't guessed from the previous chapters, I don't always write in understandable languages. So… what was they gibberish I was/will be writing in? Well, that was my own special language that I created for general purposes. It actually has it's own symbols instead of letters like that, but I can't exactly type in the swirls. Shrugs Besides, you can sound out the words better this way. I'll try not to loose you with the language, okay? That said, please don't try to decode it. It's supposed to be code. I'm the only one with the key. So there. Don't ask, I won't tell.

-Chapter 12-

_"Raven, neta e. Ec eb huc yulk ec. Cka joe, E goh cosa ec oyovi." Trigon hissed. Raven shook her head, stepping away from the beast. _

_"I will never help you. Never. It doesn't matter how much pain I must endure, you will remain imprisoned." Raven said, her confidence fading with every step she took back. She felt as if she were cowering. She WAS cowering. She was cowering and she hated it. Inside she was falling apart. She could never let him see that._

_"Vui gohuc labebc za lul ruhn." Trigon hissed, stepping towards her menacingly._

_"I can resist you as long as I want. If I weren't strong enough, I could have never trapped you in the first place. You NEED me to free you! It seems like I'm the stronger one here!" Raven cried out, gaining the courage to stand her ground. She would not be afraid. She couldn't afford to be afraid._

_"Vuil juyal eb huckehn guzjolam cu zvi nrulvi!" Trigon boomed, offended by the idea that a HALF demon was more powerful then himself. _

_"You have no glory! You have nothing but HELL!" Raven screamed._

_"Ckah rac HELL guza cu VUI!" _

Raven awoke with a gasp. Her jewel was bleeding again. She could feel the little trickle of blood oozing down her face. Funny the way the blood was falling, though. It should have been falling down the side of her forehead, since she was laying down. She wasn't laying down. She turned in time to see the staff collide with her head.

-

They were through waiting. The alarm was still going off, but Raven wasn't any where to be seen. The city needed them. The Titans left without her. Only Beast Boy was hesitant. He had insisted that they stay in the first place, but Raven was not coming. He felt something heavy hit his stomach. He knew where Raven was. He had hoped that he was wrong. He had tried to give her time to get away from the scene, just in case. Robin couldn't catch her. Robin had once told the green boy that he would send him to jail, just because he MAY have hurt Raven when he had become his Beast. If he caught Raven actually COMMITING a crime…

As he followed the other Titans to the car, he wondered if there was a jail that could hold Raven? Sure, anything could hold Raven if she let it, but if she really wanted to get out could anything hold her in? Could anything hold her Demon in? The car started and took off toward the city.

Murder means the death sentence. Beast Boy gulped. They couldn't kill Raven! They just couldn't! He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He only hoped that she had already left. He hoped that she was far away from the murder scene. He hoped that she was going towards the Tower right now and that they just passed her without knowing. Then she could even be washed up before they got back. Yes, that had to be it. It just HAD to be that way. If Robin caught her…

The car stopped suddenly, swerving. The Titans jumped out of the car. There was a figure by the alleyway. The shadows hid the entire figure almost completely. Still, something was moving. That something had long dark tentacles…

Cyborg turned on his light. Instantly he gasped and Starfire cried out, closing her eyes and turning from the sight. Beast Boy had been looking at the ground and he continued to look at the ground. He refused to look up. He would not see Raven do this. He would not look up until everything was over and Raven was back to normal again.

He could still hear, though, and a sickening sound rose to his ears. It sounded like a predator, an animal, tearing the flesh of it's prey. He could smell the blood. He could hear Cyborg cursing, something which he had never done before. He tried to block it all out. He refused to hear it and he refused to smell it. Still he heard and still he smelt the blood… so much blood…

He heard something drop. Footsteps, a gasp, and then the noise of a person hitting the ground. He looked up. Robin had his staff put away before the end of the second. Raven was her normal self on her knees on the ground. Robin closed the handcuffs around her wrists and once again Beast Boy wondered if they would hold her. A choked noise, something like a sob, halfway left Raven's throat.

"How could you, Rae?" Cyborg asked with disbelief. Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut.

"I… please… it wasn't… oh God…" Raven choked, most of her words catching somewhere in her throat. "Trigon." She finished, managing to make that one word strong and definite.

"Trigon? No… not that thing we fought in your head?" Cyborg asked in shock. Raven couldn't respond, but she nodded. Her head ached from doing so and she bit her lip against the pain. Cyborg turned to Beast Boy only to find that Beast Boy had returned to staring at the ground. Robin's face struck a look of sudden confusion. "Trigon? In her head?" Cyborg laughed nervously, forgetting that Robin didn't know about the little adventure through Raven's mind.

"Well you see… Beast Boy and I… well… long story short, we went into Raven's mind and fought her father, Trigon… which turned out to be only anger… but…"

"No…" Raven interrupted. "Not anger, not now. Trigon. Just Trigon."

Starfire suddenly perked up. "Ah, I get it! So this Tri-gun… he is controlling you, yes? And you did not do any of this, right?"

Raven nodded, ignoring the headache this time. Robin sighed in frustration. The line between black and white was NOT supposed to have a field of grey. Good and Evil should be as clear as day. It never was, though. Everyone but Raven turned their eyes to Robin, wondering what he would do.

"Fine. I won't send her to jail. We HAVE to lock her up, though, just to be sure. We'll run an observation at home, how's that? Cyborg, do you think you can build a room that would be strong enough to hold her if she gets 'controlled' again?"

"I'll try." Cyborg said, glancing down at Raven. She was still and silent, but he could tell that she was still listening. She wasn't in a trance. She just knew that this was for her own good. The last thing she wanted was to commit another murder. Being locked up was best.

-

She still couldn't meditate. That in itself scared her. Never before could she NOT meditate. There were times when she couldn't concentrate, but concentration could be regained. She could concentrate now. She just couldn't meditate. She was locked out of her own mind and she hated it!

She flopped back onto the dark blue sheets in an attempt to get comfortable. After all, Beast Boy and Starfire had tried so hard to make the room bearable. Then again, Starfire's idea of bearable was bright and fluffy. Beast Boy's idea of comfortable was squishy and green. Raven's idea of comfortable, on the other hand, was a medium sort of firmness that was dark. They had made the room bright, squishy, and fluffy. They had tried to remember that her favorite color was blue, but that didn't change the fact that the bed was way too soft. She tossed and turned on the squishy bed, trying to get some sort of sleep.

It didn't work. She sighed. She couldn't meditate, she couldn't talk to her friends, and she couldn't sleep. So, Raven began to pace. That didn't last very long, either.

Exhausted and annoyed, Raven tried to sleep again. This time sleep was kind and she fell into a very light sort of sleep.

-

"_NOW! Now you will rise and free me! Huy vui yer leba ohm la za!" _

_Raven tried to choke out a protest, but she couldn't. She couldn't even step backwards. She was frozen._

"_Oyosah huy ohm la za! Awaken now!"_

-

"NO!" Raven cried out, jumping from her bed in shock. The mattress exploded. She looked about the room. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

That was when the pain came.

Raven grabbed her head as a pain like a dagger being plunged through her skull crashed upon her. She hit the ground, clutching her forehead. She felt hot and cold at the same time as she felt cold beads of sweat rise through her skin. She gasped for air only to find that it hurt to even breathe. Her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear it over the roaring in her ears. Her gem burned like a mix of fire and electricity. Raven forgot who she was and where she was. All she knew was the pain. She wanted it all to stop. Frantically she clawed at her forehead, trying to pry out the red diamond.

She heard voices. Over her heartbeat… over the roaring… somewhere there was someone. Someone was calling her. She couldn't hear them, though. She wished that they would help her, that they would make the pain stop. Instead, whoever it was just caused more pain. They picked her up and it felt as though their touch burned her skin. She cried out, but still she was lifted off of the ground. She opened her eyes, but saw only red.

"Her temperature is rising drastically!"

"We need to cool her down!"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Raven, calm down! Raven!"

So distant… she felt so distant…

"Ec muabc kota cu fa ckab yovi. The pain will go away. Just free me."

It was such a welcome offer. All she wanted was the pain to go away. That voice was close, so close. The pain would go away, she just had to listen… to listen…

"It's not getting any better!"

"I don't believe it! She's melting the ice!"

"We need to call the ambulance, now!"

"Then what if she goes demon again?"

"It doesn't matter, Robin! She's dying!"

"She'll fry if her temperature gets any higher!"

"Free me, Raven… La za… La za…"

"How? How do I free you? How will the pain go away?"

Comfort… the pain was fading. This was good, this voice was good. It had to be. Why else would the pain go away?

"Just relax. Let me help you. Rac za karj vui, Raven."

"Her temperature is dropping!"

"She's quiet…"

"Raven, can you hear me? Raven! Raven!"

"Don't yell!"

"Her heartbeat is returning to normal. She's breathing fine now, too."

"So, then, friend Raven will be all right?"

"She'll be fine, Starfire. Look, she's back to normal now."

But Raven was far from back to normal. Inside Trigon rose at last. This time, his control over her body was complete. This time Raven would rise and free his true body. Then all of Hell would break loose, most literally.

Raven's eyes opened… all four of them… red and blazing…

Starfire gasped and stumbled back. Robin was there instantly, latching restraints around Raven's ankles and wrists. Cyborg held her down as Robin did this, but Beast Boy had staggered back much like Starfire had.

"Not again." He muttered, but this was worse… much worse…

Cyborg was thrown into a wall almost instantly, the restraints ripping in two as if the cold metal where only paper. Just like that, Raven rose from the medical bed, black tentacles swirling out from under her cloak.

"Take her down!" Robin ordered. "Don't let her get to the city!"

It was too late. The window was gone and with it, Raven. Beast Boy was the first to notice and the first to follow, transforming into a random bird to fly after her.

The tentacles had faded back up into her cloak. Still her eyes blazed red. They blinked, she blinked… But they would not fade from red.

Beast Boy turned from her and looked straight ahead. Something was in the sky, something that was not there before. It hovered above the buildings, attached to nothing. It seemed to be a burst of flame at first, but that soon faded into something else.

A gate. There was a burning black gate cutting a rip through the sky above Jump City. That could NOT be good.

She was carefree, weightless. Surrounded in dark, yes, but that was just it. There was nothing. No up or no down meant no falling. No people meant no feelings. It was just nothing. The pain had left, leaving a cold hole. She was missing something, but what? Something was wrong… and very quickly the nothing became something. That something was her worry. Her scenery changed to match it. Now no longer nothing, the place was no longer a comfort. She longed suddenly for that comfort, but that nagging feeling stopped her from returning. Something was wrong. She just couldn't remember what.

There was pain… voices… and then what? Oh yes, after that was the nothing. Was she dead? For being dead, this seemed awfully like her mind. If death responded to her thoughts like this, she may as well be in Hell. Trapped in herself for all eternity did not seem like Heaven to her. Oh well, only fitting that the a demon's child goes to Hell. Hell! That was it! That was the problem! Trigon! Hell! That voice… it was Trigon! Oh… but that meant…

Beast Boy tried to grab at Raven's cloak or maybe peck at her a few times. She wouldn't respond. She wouldn't stop. She was heading straight toward that horrible gate in the sky and he couldn't stop her! The gate seemed to grow brighter as they approached. It pulsed in her presence. Then it changed… A lock formed from the black iron bars.

Beast Boy tripled his attempts to stop her, but she had already reached the gate. She didn't even have to ponder how the lock worked. She seemed to already know. But, no… she didn't know. It wasn't Raven. Raven wouldn't know. This is Trigon and of course he knows. Raven's hand touched the lock softly. The gate glowed, even though it's bars remained black. It was a glow of darkness, which seemed to not make sense, but there is it was.

The bars again began to move. They stretched and broke until the jagged edges of glowing black metal reached up her arm. Beast Boy was frantic, desperate. He couldn't stop it, he couldn't stop her. He felt so helpless, so lost. He didn't know what was happening, but whatever it was it could hurt his friend… and there was no way he could help.

The tips of the bars buried themselves into Raven's flesh at scattered parts up and down her arm. Blood rose around the black glow and dripped off her arm. Raven didn't even flinch. Beast Boy, however, reacted by becoming even more frantic. The gate seemed to ponder the blood a moment before busting open, tearing deep scratches up Raven's arm as it did.

A red claw seemed to tear through the sky. Out of the tear rose a red demon, his yellow eyes glowing with a kind of evil joy that made chills runs down Beast Boy's spine. Trigon the turned, ripping another tear in the sky. This tear let out a large burst of flame in a sort of explosion, raining fire from the skies onto the town.

From this tear came more demons. These demons came in different shapes and sizes as well as odd colors. They fell from the tear to the Earth, some spreading wings and soaring in circles like vulture. The city burst out into a series of cries that could be heard even from the sky. Many cried "It's the end of the world!", even though they may have shrugged off the previous predictions as nonsense, much like they thought the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

"Vab! Li ohm kema!"

The voice seemed to come from two places at once, and Beast Boy turned to see that Raven was speaking with him. Both voices were unreal to a level that it hurt to listen to it. The voices seemed to hiss, scratch, boom, and echo all at once in notes ranging from the lowest inhuman tone to the a pitch that he could only hear because he had the hearing of an animal.

Beast Boy turned human, wrapping his arms around Raven's shoulders to keep himself from falling.

"Please, Raven! Wake up! Wake up! Fight this! You have to wake up Raven! Please!" He tried desperately to communicate with the possessed Titan, but she did not respond.

"Beast Boy, where are you?" Called a frantic Robin over the communicator. He seemed out of breath and distracted, as if in the middle of battle. Beast Boy supported himself with one arm, reaching for the communicator with his other hand. He wrapped his arms securely around Raven again, holding the communicator in one hand.

"I'm hanging on a possessed Raven, floating miles over the ground of Jump City! Where are you?"

"Fighting off an invasion from Hell! We're outnumbered! We need you, Beast Boy!"

"Did you not hear me? I'm clutching a possessed Raven miles over Jump City! Beside me is Trigon and two rips in the sky! Okay? I'm busy!"

"Beast Boy!"

"I'm busy! Ah!" Suddenly Raven began to move, floating closer to the demon and farther from the ground. The communicator fell from his hand as he, out of reflex, grabbed Raven tighter to keep from falling.

"Beast Boy! Are you okay? Beast Boy!" The communicator echoed softly as it fell.

"Great…" muttered Beast Boy as he clung to Raven, watching his only link to the rest of the group fall to the far distant ground.

Raven stopped in front of the red beast that was her father and Beast Boy let out an audible gulp. It was too late to shift now, he had seen him… clinging to his daughter… Okay… maybe it wasn't too late to shift an escape! So, Beast Boy transformed into a fly, resting in the hood of Raven's cloak to hide. Genius! Right? He sure hoped so…

Because seeing the real Trigon this close…

Well…

That was just plain horrifying.

And so he sat there, a fly, for a very long time. Raven wasn't waking up. Nothing was happening. There wasn't even a conversation! Trigon was quiet because, well, no point in talking to a puppet that will only say what you do when you do, now is there? Unless, of course, you wanted to make them say something embarrassing… but something as childish as that probably didn't help taking over the world at all.

"Raven!" Beast Boy jumped in surprise at the voice. He was about to doze off, as odd as that sounds. The world is being invaded by Hell and a hero dozes off. The fly crept to the edge of the hood to get a better look. Starfire! And there was also… another woman? That woman had yelled Raven's name… not Starfire. Starfire was carrying the woman as they flew through the air.

Beast Boy jumped off of Raven's hood and flew around the new woman in wonder. She looked a lot like Raven… only older… a lot older.

"Raven!" The woman called out again. Raven turned, her eyes no longer glowing, but all four still red. The evil grin faded slowly from her face…

"Raven, wake up!"

Trigon turned to face the woman and Starfire.

"Arella…" He hissed, his voice also leaving Raven's mouth.

That was when Raven blinked and only one set of eyes opened back up. The evil look was gone, but her eyes still gleamed red. Blood rimmed the red stone, dripping down her forehead.

"What a… pleasure…" Trigon continued… but Raven no longer echoed him. "The entire family is together now." He grinned evilly again and Beast Boy would have shivered if he weren't a fly.

Raven's eyes closed tight and a small choked noise left her throat. Her hands went to her head as her entire body bowed over in pain. Her eyes flew open in a sudden moment and with it a cry left her throat: "Momma!" She turned to Arella, her eyes full of mixed emotions that she could not express.

Momma? Momma? Beast Boy looked from the woman to Raven and did a double take. This woman, Arella, was Raven's MOTHER? He quickly shrugged this fact off when it struck him that Raven was awake! She was awake! In his sudden burst of hope and joy he transformed back into his human form, just to exclaim:

"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU WOKE UP!" Then he realized that he was falling. He flailed his arms as if he had wings for a moment before changing into a bird and squawking at Raven as if to emphasize what he just said.

Everyone, Trigon included, looked at the green bird. Everyone seemed… stunned. After all, Beast Boy had seemed to appear out of nowhere. After that moment of an agreeing 'where the hell did you come from?' moment everyone returned to the previous, more serious, moment.

Or tried to…only everyone seemed to have forgotten where they where. Well, everyone except for Trigon, who took the moment to snatch Raven out of the air, crushing her in his thick red claw.

Raven cried out as a 'crunch' sounded, marking the snap of a few bones that gave way under the pressure of her father's muscled claw.

"Raven!" Arella and Starfire cried out and much the same time and Beast Boy squawked his shocked agreement.

The pain burned through her and she felt the warm tears dripping down her face. She struggled weakly against her father's claw, sobbing softly at the pain it caused. She tried to tap into her powers.

"Azarath… Metri-Aaaahhhhhnnn!" Blood oozed from the diamond center of her forehead at the attempt and she quickly gave up. She was still locked out of her own mind…

A flurry of green danced across her spinning vision. Beast Boy was trying hard to claw, peck, bite, and scratch at Trigon's hand in an attempt to get him to let her go. Trigon's other hand came up, ready to flick the annoying green beast away. He missed, though, and Beast Boy squeezed between Raven and the fingers of the demon as a mouse. He nibbled at the inside of the thick red fingers. Raven's eyes fluttered closed. Quickly she forced them back open. She couldn't pass out… not here… not now!

Beast Boy nibbled a small hole into Trigon's pointer finger. Blood oozed out of the tiny hole and Beast Boy almost danced in triumph. Now thoroughly annoyed, Trigon opened his hand, dropping a semi-conscious Raven as he investigated the irritating green beast. Beast Boy had already changed, though. The fly dove frantically for Raven before turning into a very large bird. He reached his green talons out and snagged Raven's cloak, keeping her from falling. Starfire flew up next to him, still holding an uncomfortable looking Arella.

"We need to get out of here, now." Arella ordered plainly and with a squawk Beast Boy obeyed. They began to make a mad air-dash back towards the tower.

Trigon, however, was not going to be so easily fooled. He swatted at the fleeing Titans (and Arella!), but only stirred up the air around them. Beast Boy began to tumble and fall with the odd disturbance in the air, but he managed just fine. Trigon didn't pursue them any more. He knew that soon this world would be his and then they couldn't run from him.

Robin and Cyborg were already in the Tower. Cyborg had his head rested in his hands as Robin paced the floor. They both stopped and looked up when the others entered.

Beast Boy held Raven in his arms, one arm supporting her back while the other scooped under her knees. Blood dripped down Raven's arm and soaked through the side of her black leotard. Her eyes stared blankly with forced consciousness that seemed to fade and return with every pained breath.

"Set her down on the couch." Arella ordered quietly and no one questioned her. Cyborg stood so the couch was completely free for use and Beast Boy set Raven there gently. He backed away as Arella stepped forwards, kneeling by where her daughter's head rested. She brushed a strand of hair from Raven's eyes.

"It's okay now, darling, you can sleep."

Raven blinked blankly before turning her head to look at her mother.

"You'll be here… when I wake up… right?" Raven whispered, choking each word out with great pain and force. Arella nodded, smiling. Raven's eyes fluttered before closing completely. Arella stood to face the other Titans.

"So." Robin began instantly, arms crossed over his chest. "What the Hell is happening out there!"

Arella smiled weakly in a way that wasn't really a smile. "Hell is exactly what is happening. Before I explain, perhaps we should get the introductions out of the way? Our meeting before was cut off quite… quickly. My name is Arella, I am Raven's mother, as I mentioned before."

"I am Robin, leader of the Teen Titans and friend of you daughter. This," he gestured to his right at the half-metal man beside him. "is Cyborg. She," He gestured to his left to the Tamaranian. "is Starfire and that green one over there," he pointed to Beast Boy, who was standing nervously by Arella. "is Beast Boy."

Beast Boy extended a hand with a shaky grin. "Pleasure to meet ya… Mrs. … Ms. … Urhm… Ms. Raven's Mom, ma'am."

Arella took the hand with an actual grin. "Just call me Arella, please. Truly, though, the pleasure is all mine. You don't know how happy it makes me to know that my Raven has friends."

That was when the Titan Alert went off.

"WE KNOW!" Robin and Cyborg both yelled angrily at the machine. This obviously had not been the first time it had gone off since they returned.

After turning off the machine, Robin turned back to Arella. "Care to explain now?"

((Wee. I wrote this chapter before most of my others. Why? Hell if I know. I guess I just wanted to write this chapter. shrug I also wrote ½ of chapter 10 before I wrote the rest of it. I've been writing in jumps. I have some scribbles on some paper in my backpack that doesn't happen until… well… it doesn't happen for a long long while. So there. Okay. Long chapter. 14 pages, says my handy dandy Microsoft Word. I'll shut up now.))


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: I'm running out of nifty things to say here. I don't own the Teen Titans.

A/N: Urhm… why are you not reading the story?

-Chapter 13-

Arella looked out over the city. Already buildings had begun to crumble and fall. She cringed and turned back to Robin.

"As I said before, Hell is exactly what's happening. You see, what we humans view as Hell is really a series of dimensions. Each dimension has been taken over by demons. Some of the dimension's natives still survive, but normally only to be tortured slaves. Trigon took over his own dimension years ago. Then he turned his eyes to this dimension. His first attempt to take over this world was unsuccessful and Trigon was imprisoned in a sort of 'Limbo'. He was locked in a dimension of nothing and Raven was the key. The gate to Limbo was opened. With his powers he opened the gates to one of the dimensions of Hell. Hell is exactly what is happening here. Any suggestions on how to stop it?"

All of the Titans looked at each other. "You mean… you don't have a plan?" Robin asked. Arella shook her head.

The Titans sat down where they stood, sitting on the floor in thought.

Crack!

Everyone jumped, equally surprised. Everybody but Arella. Arella looked over at Raven, rather than jumping. The young half demon was floating up and down about two inches above the couch. Robin had jumped into a fighting position, as had Starfire (who was now floating with star bolts readying in her hands). It took them a moment to realize there was no threat before they settled into a resting stand.

"What was that?" Robin asked Arella, since she seemed to know everything about what was happening. Arella nodded over the Raven.

"Raven is healing."

"That doesn't explain the crack!"

"Yes it does. She just put her ribs back in the right place."

Everyone kind of blinked. They looked over at the blood stain on her side. Oh yeeaaahh… There was a kind of 'Crunch!' when Trigon snatched her out of the air, wasn't there?

An awkward silence fell. A very long awkward silence. Beast Boy sighed. "This really sucks." Beast Boy said out loud. "Who'd have thought that the end of the world would be so boring?" Everyone groaned at his comment. Cyborg stood.

"I'm going to take Raven to the medical wing." He stated, even though she was still healing herself. No one objected, only stood to follow.

It had been several hours. Robin was pacing up and down the long hallway, still trying to come up with a plan. Starfire had fallen asleep in a chair in the medical wing where Cyborg was watching some screens in deep thought. Arella stood by her daughter, who was still in a floating trance. Beast Boy was looking out the window. He had been watching the smoke rising from the city for a very long time. He sighed.

"Shouldn't we go save our city?" Beast Boy suggested.

"With no plan and not enough power? We couldn't even get through the little demons. How are we going to fight Mr. Big and Ugly himself?"

Beast Boy sighed. Arella remained silent. The green changeling turned around and faced Raven, pressing his back against the window.

"Please don't lean against the window, you're making me nervous." Arella stated. Beast Boy stood up and walked over to her and Raven instead.

"Is she better now?" He asked, looking up at Arella.

"Why are you asking her that? I'm the one watching all of the monitors!" Cyborg objected. Beast Boy frowned.

"Because she's her mother and I want to talk to her, that's why."

Cyborg smiled. "Oh I see."

"What!"

"Nothing. Never mind. Pretend that I'm not here."

Beast Boy frowned. What was so secret and funny about him wanting to talk to Raven's mom? When he looked back up at Arella, she was smiling.

"She's fine now."

"But she isn't awake."

"She won't be for a little while."

"But you said she was fine!"

Arella messed his hair. "She is fine. Calm down!" Beast Boy frowned and tried to smooth his hair back down again. Arella lost most of the smile when she looked back down at Raven. In her eyes was something else… something distant. Beast Boy looked back down at Raven as well.

"Tell me about her." Arella said. "I want to know what she's like."

"Uhm… Well… she's…" Beast Boy scratched his head in confusion. "She's hard to explain. Uhm…" Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot, face scrunched up in thought. "She's… She's not what she is, you know? I mean she's all quiet and dark. She locks herself up in her room and doesn't really smile, doesn't laugh. She's not REALLY like that, you know? I don't know. Oh!" Beast Boy perked up in sudden realization.

"I got her to dance!" He smiled proudly. "You see, there was this whole thing where this bad guy restrained her powers and all, but she still wouldn't express her emotions, right? So then she just comes out and says that she'll be expressive for one day! So we take her dancing… Oh, she's ticklish! Anyway… we take her dancing and she won't dance! And I told her that she promised, but she still didn't, so I tickled her! It was fun, I ended up chasing her off of the dance floor and onto the floor by the soda bar! It was sooo funny! And so she finally gives up, right? And boy can she dance!"

Beast Boy smiled proudly. Arella smiled with him.

"Continue." she prompted and Beast boy returned to deep thought.

"Okay… well… She likes tea… her favorite color is blue… she loves to read… she hates it when anyone goes in her room… Oh! Once me and Cyborg…"

"Cyborg and I." Arella corrected. Beast Boy looked at her oddly.

"What?"

"Cyborg and _I_ not me and Cyborg."

It took a moment for it to register that Arella was correcting him. He looked up at her and wrinkled his nose in annoyance. "You ARE a mother!"

Cyborg laughed. Beast Boy had forgotten he was there.

"So anyway. We were in Raven's head using a creepy mirror thing and there was these other Ravens, her emotions and all… so we were trying to get out and everything and there was this PINK Raven! I mean, Raven isn't a PINK person. And this Raven was all cheery and happy and stuff and we were all shocked! Raven is never like that! So you know what? I think that we're missing a lot of Raven. It's like having this HUGE puzzle and only having like 5 of the pieces. I can't exactly tell you what she's like because of that."

Arella nodded. "I'm glad she has such good friends." she said, smiling widely at Beast Boy. Beast Boy returned the smile.

"Just ask the woman what you want to already!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy turned to him. "I don't have anything to ask her!"

"Yeah you do!"

"No I don't!"

There was a small second of silence before Cyborg looked over at Arella and yelled:

"Beast Boy wants to know if he can go out with your daughter!"

Beast Boy turned from green to red. "I do not!"

Arella laughed and it was a soft bell-like sound. Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Arella patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay. I give you permission to date my daughter."

"I'M NOT DATING RAVEN!" Beast Boy yelled, flailing his arms.

"But you WANT TO!" Cyborg teased.

"I do not!" Beast Boy retorted lamely.

That was when the Tower began to shake. Beast Boy fell to the ground, landing right on his bottom, while Cyborg stumbled into the wall of monitor screens. Arella grabbed on to the edge of the bed as she went down. The door slid open and Starfire flew in while Robin ran sloppily on the shaky tower.

"What's happening!" He yelled. It seemed to have become the question of the day. No one could answer and soon he also hit the ground in the jumble. The lights flickered and went out. The only light was the dimly flickering flame of the burning city over the lake. The sun was blocked out by the smoke. Starfire yelped in surprise.

The shaking stopped. "Don't worry, guys. The back up system should be kicking in now." Cyborg announced. It kicked in… but still there was no light. There was noises. The monitors returned to beeping softly and the starting up noises filled the silence. Still there was no light. Then the light from the window seemed to go out. It wasn't the light that was the problem. Something black was in the air. That something suddenly made the air hard to breathe.

If felt like breathing in jell-O instead of air and it hurt. There was a 'thump' noise as Starfire fell from her floating place in the air to the ground. Coughing echoed through the Tower. Pain struck their lungs. What was going on?

It stopped as suddenly as it had started. The darkness was replaced by noise. A scream. Raven was sitting on the bed, eyes black, screaming as the darkness seemed to flee into her skin. Frantically she clawed at her arms and then her chest and neck. Her scream shattered the windows and the monitors cracked as they beeped wildly in her hysterical response.

Arella jumped up, grabbing Raven's arms and pulling her hands form her neck where deep red lines of blood had formed. Quickly the wrists were snatched from her hands and the frantic clawing continued.

"Someone help me!" Arella screamed, trying to grab at her wrists again. Beast Boy and Robin (who were the closest at this point) each grabbed one of Raven's wrists and managed to pull her bloodied hands away from her neck. The screaming continued.

And then stopped.

Raven collapsed backwards onto her bed, eyes still open but black. Arella and the other Titans released her wrists. Blood covered their hands from the gashes she had clawed into her arms. Cyborg rushed over with the medical supplies.

"What just happened?" Robin asked, once again saying the question of the day.

No one answered. No one could. Raven's eyes drifted shut and a serious cough jolted her body back to life.

She sat up, eyes shut tight, coughing up small amounts of an odd black spray that vanished before it settled anywhere. After a few moments of that the coughing produced nothing and Raven opened her eyes.

She stared straight at Arella, tears welling up in her eyes. Beast Boy bit his lip. Was Raven going to cry? He didn't want Raven to cry!

"Don't die." Raven whispered to her mother, her monotonous voice cracking with sorrow. The tears glazed her eyes and seemed to sparkle as it they were liquid light. Even so, the sight was horrible. Blood was all down Raven's front. Arella frowned. "What did you see?" she asked softly, comfortingly. Raven shook her head.

"Don't do it! Don't fight Trigon! Don't die!" Her voice came out frantic. Cyborg set the medical items down by Raven and took one of her wounded arms. The sleeve was shredded, so he finished the rips to get to the injuries. A tear streamed down Raven's cheek.

"Promise me you won't fight Trigon!" She demanded.

"What did you see?" Arella demanded in return, still soft.

Raven shook her head. "Just promise me! Promise you won't die!" Everything was silent. Arella stated in her silence that she would not promise. The half demon girl turned away from her mother with a sharp head movement that shot pain through the scratched on her neck. She gasped and reached her fingers up, touching the blood softly. Cyborg took this as his cue and pulled her hand away gently, mopping up the blood around the wounds.

"What did you see?" Arella asked. "Was Trigon dead?"

It was Raven's turn to be silent. She pressed her lips together secretly.

"Raven?" Arella's voice maintained a soft, soothing tone. Raven still didn't answer. Cyborg began to wrap her neck.

"Was Trigon dead?" Arella said, trying again.

"I don't know." Raven whispered. "You were there and then not. Just a flash of light, okay?"

"Then is it possible that I didn't die in the vision?"

"No. You were dead." Raven said, regaining her monotonous voice.

"Did Trigon also vanish in the light?"

"Yes."

"And was he dead?"

"I told you, I don't know!"

Silence. Cyborg finished bandaging Raven's other arm and took a step back. Everyone remained silent. This was between Raven and her mother. Nobody wanted to get in the middle of something like that.

"So… you can't even promise me this. All of these years and you've done nothing for me. Now you won't even do this. Some mom you are."

Arella flinched visibly from the blow.

"Raven… you know very well that…"

"Yes. I know. I know." Raven stood up and walked off, back facing her mother. "Emotional attachment blah blah blah… Didn't work, did it? After then, then what? Where were you AFTER all of that? Where were you when I came here?"

"Stopping Trigon from entering this dimension!"

Raven spun to face her and flung a hand at the window which cracked. "That didn't work either, did it?"

Arella looked away from Raven. "Raven… please…"

"What? Do you expect me to do something for you after you've done NOTHING for me? NO!" The window shattered completely, but Raven didn't acknowledge it. She continued, her voice lowering to a normal level in an angry monotonous pitch. "Do you know how many times I've gone out there only to see little girls walking with their mothers, hand in hand, smiling? Do you know how often I wished I could've been like them? Do you realize how often I wake up at night and wish that you were there to chase away the bad dreams?" The anger fell from her tone, giving way to sorrow. All of the Titans just stood there, stunned. Raven had NEVER been like this. Never.

"After all of that… and you can't even promise me this… You can't even live for me…" Raven shook her head, trying to fight the tears. "I don't believe you."

Her mother stood with all of the authority of any mother. She had that look on her face. THAT look. Raven struck a cold look as if challenging her to say what she wanted to. She did.

"How can you be so selfish? Innocent people are out there dying! If one person can die to save millions, then why should they not sacrifice themselves? How can you try to stop me when it could save this world that you CLAIM to love so much?"

Raven's face went completely emotionless. Cold, like it was etched out of stone. Beast Boy gulped. That was NEVER a good face.

"Fine." Raven said, her voice so emotionless that it was scary. "Go kill yourself. See if I care."

Her entire body felt cold, but she bit back the shiver. This feeling scared her. Alone. That was the feeling. She hated being alone. She felt her lip quivering and she bit it to make it stop. She couldn't cry. Not now. She had to prove that she was strong. She had to get over this now so she could handle it when it happened. She couldn't loose control.

((Wow. Prepare for the next chapter!))


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. cries

Chapter 14

_"Don't worry, Raven. We'll be your family."_

The plan was simple. The Titans would protect Arella until she could take Trigon down. Simple.

_"We'll get through this together, you'll see."_

The staff collided with another of the lower demons, knocking it back some distance. Since Raven still couldn't use her powers, Robin had let her use one of his many staffs and taught her a few quick moves before they left the tower. The plan was simple. Their orders were clear.

But nothing was simple now.

A demon's claw came down on Raven's arm and she knocked it away with the staff. Even so blood dripped from the thin lines that formed where the claws had hit. She knocked away a few more demons. "Half-blood!" One demon hissed in realization. Raven backed away in shock, trying to keep the demons away. They were laughing at her!

"It's a mutt!"

"A half-blood? Ew!"

The staff slammed into the demon's forehead with a sickening sound. The demon hit the ground, eyes rolling back into his head. Raven's eyes flickered red.

"Oooooo! I think that we made the poor thing mad!"

More laughing. Raven forgot all of the martial arts moves that Robin had taught her. Her rage was creeping into control of her mind. How dare they laugh at her! Raven spun to the feel of a hand on her shoulder. Starfire. The rage faded quickly.

"Thanks, Star." Raven muttered. It was weird, the look on Starfire's face. Had Starfire ever been so serious looking? Then again, if Starfire wasn't serious at the end of the world, then when would she be? Even so, the look was almost scary. If Starfire thought it was this bad then maybe it WAS the end of the world… Maybe it WAS all as bad as it seems…

The demons kept coming. There was no end. There wouldn't be an end as long as the portal remained open.

The plan was simple. Keep Arella safe until she can take down Trigon. Simple.

"Raven, what are you doing?" Robin shouted as Raven dropped the staff.

"We can't fight these things forever. I need to close the rip." She floated off the ground, prepared to fly miles over Jump city to fix this.

"We don't need to fight them forever! Just stay down here and fight them NOW!"

Raven's cloak swirled as she turned to him, still hovering over the ground. "I know what I need to do. If fighting these things is so important, then fight them and not me."

As she rose higher into the sky, she unwrapped the bandages that covered her left arm. She let the blood stained strips of cloth fall to the ground. They fluttered like morbid party streamers as they fell, curling in ways that were too joyous to be what they were. Raven flexed her hand and the blood began to rise to the surface of her cuts again. She flinched at the pain it caused, but it was nothing compared to what she had been through earlier.

"Raven. There you are." Hissed Trigon as she approached the portal. She turned to him, trying to keep her emotions in check, even as fear and rage welled up inside her.

"I'm ending what you started." She stated, trying hard not to yell it. Rage was his territory. If she let it consume her, then he would control her again.

"Ujehem yeck molshab, grubam yeck molshab." Trigon hissed, seemingly amused. "I can take over your world without the demons."

Raven ran over his words in her head again, searching for a translation. She hated this otherworldly stuff. She turned to the portal, the blood still dripping down her arm.

"By darkness opened… by darkness closed. A dark spell. Damn."

How many dark spells did she know that didn't require her powers? Trigon laughed at her confusion. Then it hit Raven. Malchior. He had taught her dark magic. She despised it then, but needed in now. She skimmed over each spell she had shoved far back into her memory. Powerful dark magic. Maybe too powerful. Could the appropriate spell be performed without her powers. Trigon seemed amused. Maybe he would let her use her powers just to see if she could do it.

Raven lifted her bleeding arm and extended it towards the portal.

"Luz molshab ujehed rebca huy. Luz molshab fulz E gruba vui huy."

For a moment she thought it didn't work. Then a black sparkle drew her attention. The blood vanished from her arm, but left her feeling weak. She stumbled backwards in the air. The demons fled from the border of the closing portal one way or the other. Soon the sky took over where the rip was. The demons quit pouring out. She had done it. She had closed the portal.

"Where's Raven?" Beast Boy asked Robin after transforming back into a human. The demons had thinned, running farther into the city rather then attacking the teens. It was a good time to regroup. The only thing was, the entire group wasn't there.

"Up there." Cyborg said, pointing up at a small dark figure in the sky.

Raven began her descent, returning to the Titans. Began. She didn't make it to the ground. Trigon snatched her out of the air, holding her between two fingers like a kid would hold a bug.

"Let me go." Raven demanded, knowing that struggling would do her no good.

"Now why would I do that?"

"I have an idea!" Beast Boy announced. Cyborg gave him a suspicious look.

"Look, BB, if it involves mice, giant wheels, flame eating jugglers, clones, or an army of beetles, we don't want to hear it."

Beast Boy looked offended. "Now why would I make up silly plans like that? No, you see… my idea involves cutting some kind of gash in Trigon's skin so I can enter as an amoeba and travel through his blood stream. Then I can wait until I get somewhere like a heart or something and turn into a bigger animal! That'll kill him!"

blink blink

"WHY DIDN'T YOU THINK OF THAT BEFORE!"

"Why didn't YOU think of that before?" Beast Boy countered skillfully. Arella was still in a trance, still gaining the power. They couldn't disrupt her concentration. If this plan didn't work, then they'd need the back-up. They'd have to hurry.

A scream echoed through the air. Raven thrashed in Trigon's grasp, eyes squeezed shut as she resisted him. Everything inside of her screamed at her, told her to give up. Every cell of her body reacted violently to the resistance. Her arms tossed themselves over her chest and her nails bit deeply into the already torn skin of her arms. The blood that leaked out was streaked with spots of black, like there was something else in her blood. Something much darker…

It was a small cut, but it would do. Beast Boy transformed and the odd plan was set into motion. Everything seemed to be just a race against time now. A soft white glow seeped in and out of Arella's entranced form.

Four eyes jolted open at the same time. Two were white and two were black. Raven's scream mingled with Arella's battle cry. A white light filled everyone's sight, blinding.

"No…"

When the dust cleared, the destruction was visible and everywhere. Starfire tossed a large chunk of wall off of her back and looked around.

"Friends? Friends?" She lifted up the large chunks of rubble with her alien strength in search. Cyborg beat her to it, though, lifting himself out of his own pile of debris.

"Where is Robin?" Starfire asked. Cyborg coughed.

"One sec, Star. Let me clear the dust out of my systems."

Before he could finish, Robin coughed and heaved one of the rocks off of him. Another rock trapped his leg as he lay face down in the dirt. Starfire went over to remedy this.

"Are you okay, friend Robin?" She asked, concern filling every inch of her voice.

"I think my leg is broken, but I'm alive. Where are the others?"

"Scanning the area now." Stated Cyborg as his arm beeped.

Starfire lifted Robin carefully, his left leg limp.

"I've got a lock on Raven's communicator." Cyborg announced.

"And friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked in worry.

"Still searching. C'mon, Rae's over here."

Raven was found sprawled out on her side, one solid heavy metal bar from one of the destroyed buildings pinning her down by the waist. Her eyes fluttered opened as they approached. Cyborg heaved the bar off of the fallen Titan and checked her vitals.

"How is our friend?" Starfire asked as Cyborg reviewed the results of his scan.

"She'll be alright, Star. Lots of cuts, a few fractures."

A groan escaped Raven's lips. She blinked a few times to clear her sight and weakly tried to push herself into a sitting position. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth as she coughed up the dirt she had breathed in. For a moment she closed her eyes and shivered, but that passed as her thoughts began to settle in her mind. The white light from her vision. Trigon was gone… which meant that Arella was dead. Raven gulped down a deep breath and tried to conjure up the strength to stand.

With Cyborg's help Raven rose to her feet, despite the few minor fractures that cracked randomly in her bones. She gave another large cough and sucked in another breath of air as the dust settled firmly over the scene of destruction. Raven scanned the crowd with her violet eyes.

"Where's Beast Boy?"

"We don't know yet. I can't find his communicator." Cyborg said softly and Raven pulled away from his helpful hand, tripping as she attempted to stand on the rubble on her own. She regained her balance and looked out over the disaster.

Nothing moved. Cyborg rested a heavy metal hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find him. Don't get worried yet."

"Yet." Raven mumbled, stumbling over the ruins in a desperate attempt to find him, lifting the remains with her powers now that she could use them again. "Beast Boy?" she called out. No response. Cyborg helped in the search, running more scans of the area. Nothing.

"Beast Boy?" Raven called out again and her worry betrayed her voice. A nearby rock cracked and shifted with her power. Still nothing.

"BEAST BOY!" The response to her cry was amazing. The rubble shattered, raining rocks from the sky like the remains of fireworks after the grand finale. Not a rock a single remaining rock in the area was any bigger than her fist. Dust filled the air again and all of the Titans choked and coughed with the suddenly toxic air.

Together they gasped in the clean air when the dust settled again. Raven gripped her cloak, pulling it around her tightly. She tried to blink the dust from her eyes to clear her vision. Then she looked over the rubble again.

"Beast Boy?" He voice was light… lost in the cold wind that swept across the ruined city.

((Wow. I pretty much wrote all that in one sitting!))


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Disclaimer: This is just a test of the Local Broadcasting I Don't Want To Get Sued Alarm… beep! I don't own the Teen Titans! Beep! I repeat this is just a test. If this were an actual case of I Don't Want To Get Sued then you would be instructed to the safest route to your nearest shelter.

A/N: You know what? I just realized that the fact that this fic is rated 'R' is preventing people from seeing it. That really sucks. Please feel free to tell people about my fan fic! I need more reviewers!

Chapter Fifteen

He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't! She had been prepared to let Arella die, but Beast Boy? No. It couldn't happen. Raven's eyes were burning. It was hard to tell if this was from the Beast Boy's absence, or from the dust that circled through the air.

Something shifted in the distance. Raven tripped over the rubble in her rush. It was hard to climb over the debris and keep her emotions in check at the same time. Coughing. Flashes of a dusty brownish green. Beast Boy!

Raven was the first by him, brushing him off and helping him up before Cyborg made it over. Starfire still held Robin in her arms as she flew over the mess and over to her friends. Beast Boy leaned on Raven for support.

The world was still spinning. Not to mention dusty. Beast Boy blinked a few times and steadied himself. "My head hurts." He said with a crooked smile. He managed to regain the ability to stand on his own and he leaned off of Raven, letting her stand on her own as well.

Hot tears rose in Raven's eyes as the full impact of the events fell on her. She held them back desperately, trying to rub them away before they left her eyes. Even so, a sob left her throat and she couldn't stand any longer. Beast Boy turned quickly, catching her before she hit the ground. She flung herself into him and he stumbled back with the force. She couldn't take it anymore. Raven cried, her face buried in Beast Boy's shoulder.

"H-hey, Rae… everything is okay now…" Beast Boy said, stunned, holding her up with one arm and lifting the other to her hair. He touched the dusty strands of hair carefully, as if testing the water before jumping into a pool. Then slowly, carefully, he ran his fingers through her hair softly.

"It's all right now. Trigon is gone. You're free now and everything is safe, okay? You're safe."

Raven relaxed in his arms, still sobbing. Then the sobbing faded into gasps of air, which then calmed into deep breathing. Even so, Raven did not stir or move away. After a few moment, Beast Boy nudged her.

"Hey, Rae? We need to be getting home now, okay?"

No response.

"Rae?"

* * *

Beast Boy paced impatiently in front of the couch. Raven was standing at the large window, her eyes open and unblinking. Silently the dark Titan stared out over the demolished city. She hadn't responded to anything for hours.

"Raven, I swear that if you don't start talking, I'll go into your mind and hang out with Happy!"

No response. Beast Boy sighed. He figured that that would get her! He sat down beside her and looked out the window to the city. They were rebuilding. He sighed, watching large cranes supporting new heavy metal frames. Quietly he rested his head against the cold window pane.

"How can they still have hope?"

Beast Boy perked up and looked up at the dark Titan.

"You talked!"

"How can they find the strength to rebuild? Their families, their homes… it's all gone and still they work. How?"

"Urhm…" Beast Boy said in wonder, scratching his head. How do you answer something like that? "Well… I guess it's because… because they aren't alone. Other cities all over the country are probably helping them right now."

Raven moved for the first time in hours, turning her face from the window. "You're not alone either, Rae." Beast Boy said, softly, standing up as she moved towards the couch. Raven responded by lifting her hood to cover her face. Beast Boy sighed. Was there no way to get to her?

"Did I ever tell you that I made a promise to myself?" Beast Boy asked, sitting on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back against the seat. Raven looked down at him and Beast Boy took it as his cue to continue.

"I promised myself that I'd make you smile. No matter what. And all of that stuff when you didn't have your powers doesn't count."

Raven lifted her eyes back up to the window.

"I'm going to make you smile."

"Good luck with that."

"I'm serious, Raven."

"That's a first."

A smile spread across Beast Boy's face. "What do you know? A Raven-ish response! She lives!"

"Well, that serious moment didn't last very long, did it?"

"Nope!" The green changeling said cheerfully.

"How do you do it?" Raven asked, turning her eyes back down to him.

"Do what?" He asked, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

"Continue to be annoying no matter what."

"Just talented I guess."

* * *

The pencil scratched across the sheet of paper idly. Raven wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing. She had been trying to write… trying. She couldn't concentrate.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Raven put down the pencil, looking down at the image on the page. The scratchy beginnings of a face. A familiar face. She couldn't place it at the moment. She closed the book.

"Who's there?"

"Come to the door and see!"

Raven frowned and stood, walking over to the door and sliding it open a crack.

"What do you want, Beast Boy?"

The changeling grinned up at her. "For you to come out to the living room, that's all."

Raven looked at him suspiciously. "That isn't all."

"Just come to the living room and see… puh-lease?"

"No."

Beast Boy sighed, looking disappointed. He turned away as she slid the door almost shut. Almost. At the last second Beast Boy turned around and trapped the door, pushing it back open.

"I'll tickle you." He threatened. Raven lifted an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't dare."

Fangs flinted in a sly smile. "I would."

Raven didn't flinch. She could easily toss him off of her if he DID try it… which would be a suicidal thing to do. Beast Boy waggled his fingers in the air threateningly, giggling. Raven budged only to slam the door in his face.

"C'mon, Rae! I got Cyborg to set up the karaoke machine and everything! We have better music! And cookies and ice cream!"

Raven groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh, yes Beast Boy. That's really going to get me to come out now."

It amused her the way he could just go back to normal like this. The world almost ended, thanks to her, and he still was completely devoted to making her smile. Oh and she wanted to smile, she really did… But how could she? She had almost destroyed everything she ever loved and lost a mother in the process. As much as she liked to tell herself that loosing Arella wasn't a real loss, she couldn't believe it. Before at least she had the hope to see her again… Now she didn't even have that.

"C'mon, Raven! I promise I won't make you sing."

Raven slid the door open a crack. "Promise?"

"Promise. You'll just have to sit through everybody else singing."

"Even Starfire?"

"We put out mustard covered cookies… she can't resist. Also… she can't sing with a mouthful of mustard covered cookies."

Raven covered her chest by crossing her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Tricky."

Beast Boy nodded happily, reaching into the room to grab Raven's hand. Stunned, Raven snatched her hand back and glared. Determined, Beast Boy grabbed her grey hand again.

"C'mon, Raven! At least eat something. You haven't eaten all day!"

Unable to deny that, since her stomach took the opportunity to make itself known with a growl, Raven let herself get led from her room.

"Only for a minute." Raven said. Beast Boy flashed a large toothy grin. Something inside Raven melted and she wished that she could smile, just for him, just for a moment. After all… he was trying so hard…

Oh, but that wouldn't be right. Sure he was trying, but that didn't mean she should just give it to him, right? He wanted to make her smile genuinely. It wouldn't be genuine if she did it just because he wanted her to, right? He'd just have to try harder.

* * *

"This isn't fair." Raven muttered. Beast Boy held his hands up in surrender. "I kept my promise!" He said in his defense. She glared.

"Yes. You did. I just didn't expect you to get the OTHER Titans to force me to sing."

"Who said I got them to? They did it on their own, I swear!"

Raven shook her head, setting the microphone down on the coffee table.

"I have my powers back now. I can't sing without breaking down the Tower."

DING DONG! Saved by the bell. Wait a minute. Bell?

"Since when do we have a bell?" Robin asked. Cyborg flashed a grin.

"Since I installed one!"

"So… who would be at our door?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Let's find out."

The screen came up to show a man. It didn't seem that this man had purposely rang the bell. In fact, the man looked lost. He was leaning against the button, unaware that it was even there. One question fluttered through the minds of the Titans. How does some guy accidentally stumble onto an island?

Whoever it was, he was white. I don't mean he was just pale. His clothes where white, his hair was white, he was white. So much so, in fact, that Beast Boy yelled out on of his outrageous theories.

"Dude! Some ghost just rang our doorbell!"

Then the camera caught his face. Confused ice blue eyes reflected the sun. Beast Boy paled. He knew those eyes. He looked over at Raven, who paled beyond her normal pale.

"Yeah…" she breathed. "A ghost…"

((I decided to rewrite my story, so I can cut out that horrible video game story line. It was really bringing down my confidence and my will to write. It sucked. Don't deny it. So, I changed it. For the better. Yay me! I fix! Enjoy this version. OR ELSE. Oh yeah… and if you can't guess who Mr. Lost-on-an-island-with-blue-eyes is, then please watch Spellbound before continuing with this story. Thank you!))


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer. Yes. You heard me. Disclaimer. That means that I am 'Dis'ing all of my 'claim' on the Titans. Yeah. Translation? I don't own the Teen Titans.

A/N: Ah! I can write again! Free from the horrors of a plot flop! Screw you video game spin off! Ha!

Chapter 16.

Everyone watched Raven storm off, but most were left in confusion. Only Beast Boy had seen Malchior in a some-what human form. Only he had seen those eyes, plastered on the pages of a book. Even though the eyes in the book where gray scaled, he knew they were blue. How, he wasn't sure. Then again, there was plenty that Beast Boy wasn't sure of.

For example… how the hell did Malchior become a human free from the book that just happened to be stumbling around confused on the island? Part of him wanted to think that this was Malchior, but part of him wasn't sure.

"So…" Cyborg began, looking up at Robin. "Do we let the guy in?"

Everyone waited for Robin's word of approval or disproval. The fate of the sanity of the Tower and this wandering guy rested on his shoulder, which he shrugged.

"Sure."

Beast Boy felt he should speak up. Then again… Raven would kill him. It was bad enough that HE knew this. How would she react if he told everyone? Cyborg appeared on the screen, trying to lead a very confused looking guy in white robes into the elevator. It was funny to watch, actually.

'Malchior' reacted at first by raising a hand, which instantly surrounded with white energy. When Cyborg calmed him down, 'Malchior' directed his attentions elsewhere. Instead of going INTO the elevator, it seems that the guest had many questions. Cyborg's welcome smile that he had worn going down the elevator was quickly replaced with a scrunched look that made it obvious he had a headache and was exhausted.

Beast Boy would've laughed, but he was too confused. Malchior? Human? Here? Acting like he had amnesia? What the HELL was going on? ((again with the most common question of this entire fan fic! Count how many times I write it and I swear you'll reach a pretty large number. If you REALLY do what I just suggested, then review the results. I'm lazy.))

Finally Cyborg managed to get 'Malchior' into the Tower with a sigh of relief. Robin smiled an stepped forward.

"Hey, my name's Robin, what's yours?" Robin politely extended a hand and 'Malchior' glanced at it oddly before giving a very polite and old fashioned bow, the many layers of white and light blue fabric in his robes billowing oddly with the movement.

"I am the Wizard Rorek, healer and slayer of all manner of evil creatures."

Beast Boy was stunned. "So you're not Malchior?" He blurted. Rorek's eyes jolted to Beast Boy quickly.

"Malchior? The dragon?"

Beast Boy gulped. "Urhm… yeah… 'cause you see… there was this book and…" Rorek nodded swiftly.

"So this is the place, then? The place of Malchior's revival?"

"We really don't like to talk about it." Beast Boy said, hushed, like it was some secret. "It was just… well… we have this teammate… and she… well… we just don't talk about it okay? In fact you showing up is rather… uhm…"

Rorek had lost interest in Beast Boy's ramble and took to looking about the Tower instead.

"Where is Malchior?"

"Gone. Raven took care of him a while ago."

"Raven?" Rorek looked back at Beast Boy briefly, before glancing at the faces of the other Titans.

"She went to her room." Robin offered.

"She HATES it when people go into her room!" Beast Boy said quickly.

Rorek raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I should hope so. It's highly indecent for a man to just barge into a lady's room."

Beast Boy laughed nervously. What time was this guy from, anyway? Didn't he know that decency was rare these days? ((It shouldn't be! Come one people, have a little respect!))

"Shall I go get friend Raven, then?" Starfire asked. Uh-oh. A bad feeling flooded Beast Boy's insides. Raven had run off at the sight of Rorek… She was going to be PISSED if she had to talk to him. Thankfully, Rorek shook his head.

"Nay, fair maiden. The lady will enter when she will."

Starfire tilted her head to the side. "Neigh? Is that not the sound a horse animal makes?"

Robin hit his head with the heel of his hand. "Starfire… in the English language there are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and mean different things… these words…"

As Robin took Starfire over to the couch to explain, a silence drifted awkwardly over the remaining teammates. What do you do when you have a wizard/dragon slayer from another time in your living room?

"Uhm… so… what do you call a dragon that's been thrown out of the top window of the Titan's Tower?" Beast Boy began.

Silence.

"A dragon-fly!"

More silence. Rorek blinked, confused. Cyborg shook his head.

"B.B, do you know how old that joke is?"

"Not as old as Mr. Magic over there."

* * *

The trunk clanked open loudly, the heavy sound echoing across her dark room. The book lay in the bottom of the large wooden chest. It was the only occupant of the emptiness. Raven reached down, snatching up the cursed book.

It was laughing at her, she could feel it. Silently, but loudly, a cackle rose that made her shiver. He was laughing at her. Laughing at her stupidity. Laughing at her pain. Malchior was still in the book. Then who…?

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Raven yelled as she stormed in, several light bulbs shattering behind her. She slammed the book down on the counter by Rorek, her eyes blazing. Rorek stumbled back, stunned. He had NEVER been yelled at like that by a lady! Either this woman had no manners, or she was truly pissed.

"Milady I…"

His eyes glanced down to the book.

"I am Rorek, wizard and…"

His eyes darted back up to Raven, who interrupted him suddenly.

"Like HELL you are! Tell me the TRUTH!" She slammed her hand against the book again and a nearby cup of water, which had been left out for who knows how long, shattered.

"I assure you that all I say is naught but truth."

Raven shrank back, her hand leaving the book's cover. If Malchior switched the names, then Rorek would be the wizard. Her fury slowly faded, much to the relief of everybody in the room. When it did, more questions arose. Questions that she asked with an angry bite without true fury blazing through her.

"That battle was too long ago. Why are you not dead?"

"When I imprisoned the dread dragon Malchior in that book, I chose to guard it close by. Placing an enchantment onto myself, I fell into a sleep from which I could only be awoken by the breaking of Malchior's curse."

Raven accepted the response, but sunk inside herself, throwing up defenses. He couldn't be trusted, truth or not. Rorek smiled, his blue eyes sparkling in such a hypnotic way that Raven had to turn from them.

"You must be Lady Raven."

* * *

"I don't want him here! I don't care if he has no place else to go! Just throw him out!" Raven said angrily. Robin frowned at her.

"Raven, he'll never survive in this world. He doesn't know roads from rivers!"

"I don't care! Remember what happened LAST TIME we took some stray in?"

Beast Boy flinched, but said nothing. She had meant Terra, no translation needed. It still hurt, her betrayal. Her imprisonment…

"Raven… Look, we all understand that you are upset, but don't take it out on him, okay? How about this? We let him stay for a little while, see what happens. If you still want him gone after the trial period, then we'll find him someplace else where he can go. At least that'll give up time to discover what kind of person he is and maybe even get him somewhat used to this time period."

Raven pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're being stubborn." He pointed out.

"No I'm not. He can stay, but only until you can find somewhere else for him to go. I can tell you now that I don't want him to stay and I never will."

"Never say never."

* * *

Rorek was to sleep in Terra's old room for now. Beast Boy didn't like it, but it was their only guest room. Rorek said that he liked it, stating that the painting reminded him of the Desert of Bohm… wherever the hell that was.

Raven had locked herself in her room, where she sat on her bed, tapping her foot. She couldn't take it. She stood up and paced. Restlessness plagued her to the point where she couldn't even meditate. Hurt from every betrayal she had ever been through, every bond of trust that had been broken, rose up in this restlessness. She frowned against it, fought against it. Still the blue eyes haunted her and still she shook them out.

She wanted him gone. Now.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

She soft pounding at the door was too quiet to be Cyborg or Beast Boy. Perhaps it was Starfire? Raven walked to the door, trying to sense the aura of whoever it was at the door. No. It wasn't Starfire. Starfire's aura reeked of pure joy. This aura was something calmer. Something more hypnotic. Magic. Raven pulled away from the door, startled. It was him.

"Go away!" She yelled through the door.

"There is no need to yell, milady. I only wish to apologize for anything that I may have done to upset you."

"Oh, yes, very gentlemanly of you." Raven snapped sarcastically.

"I do not understand why you feel such fury towards me, Lady Raven."

Raven frowned and turned her back to the door.

"Ask that damned book of yours."

"Malchior? What did he do to you?"

His voice was soft, with that same sweet accent… Raven cursed mentally and paced away from the door. The pains of the heartache burned fresh as something in her longed for Rorek, the man that Malchior had tried to be. The man that had won her heart, not the dragon. She shook her head. It was stupid of her to fall in love. Horribly stupid. She would never fall in love again. It only hurt.

Rorek's question was left unanswered, but Raven could tell that he was still there. He was waiting outside her door, patiently. Raven sat down on her bed and flopped back to stare at the ceiling. Still she could feel his aura as he waited for a response.

Raven told herself to ignore him. She really needed to meditate. Sitting up, Raven crossed her legs and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

His aura was still there, deep, bright, magical… hypnotic… beautiful…

Raven's eyes snapped open. He was still there. She couldn't meditate with him still there.

Frustrated by his presence, Raven flung open her door.

"Do you want to know what he did to me! He talked to me! He understood me! He tricked me! I opened up to him like the idiot I am, and he crushed me!"

Hot tears burned in her voice and wet the back of her eyes. She wouldn't cry. Not in front of him and not alone. Even so, he held her. After cautiously stepping forward, the mage wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her in the soft white fabric of his robes. Raven breathed in his magical scent and couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't need your pity!" Raven screamed, jumping away from him suddenly. She retreated to her room, slamming the door behind her with a strict loud bang. Even with the door separating them, Rorek's aura persisted. The soft scent of fresh cut herbs and sweet smelling candles stuck to her clothes. He seeped through her like poison and she dropped to her knees, shaking. Softly he brushed against her mind with honest intentions of comfort and she panicked, throwing up every barrier she had ever had.

In his presence she felt all the honesty and kindness that Malchior had faked. In his aura was a lingering magical purity. Rorek was the man she had fallen in love with. That scared her to death. The man that she had loved was here, wanting her to accept him like she had always longed to be accepted. She would never fall back into the trap of love. Never. His being here was just as painful as the heart ache.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, the sound of her voice breaking in the overwhelming sorrow that crept back to her. Just like that he left, aura and all, leaving her gasping in the blankness that he left behind.

Slowly Raven dragged herself into her bed, curling up into a ball.

"Please…" she whispered to her heart "just leave me alone."

((sigh wow. This took me way to long to do. I shouldn't wait until I get sick to finish these things, huh? Sorry about the wait! Grabs head and stomach painfully Ugh…))


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Disclaimer: Sees the owners of Teen Titans pulling out a large thick pile of papers marked 'LAWSUIT' and dives for it in slow motion Nooooooo! I don't own Teen Titans! I don't! Now please, put down the lawsuit!

A/N: Uhm… to my reviewers: THANK YOU! Please keep reviewing! It is what motivates me! When I am reviewed, I feel loved!

Chapter Seventeen

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Raven cracked an eye open.

"Yes, Beast Boy?" She approached her door for the first time in hours, cracking it open slightly. There Beast Boy stood, smiling crookedly at her.

"Uh, hey, Rae." ((Ha! That rhymes!))

"I'm not coming out."

"I wasn't going to ask you to!"

Raven raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You weren't?"

"No."

Raven leaned on her doorframe, but didn't open her door anymore. "Then what do you want?"

"To come in."

Raven paused, unsure. He smiled at her with a 'please' grin. In the end she let him in. Annoyance flickered over her face. How had he made her give in so easy? Secretly, she smiled in amusement.

"What did you want to enter for?" Maybe it was just to prove that he wasn't afraid of her room? Dull reason, really. That better not be all.

"Well… you've been meditating for 3 HOURS! Well, 3 hours and about 35 minutes. It's almost dinner time ya know… and that Rorek guy has to eat somewhere… Look, I know you don't want to be around the guy so I was thinking…"

Raven sat on her bed and flashed Beast boy a 'get to the point' frown. "I'll eat in here."

Beast Boy looked horrified at the thought.

"Did you not hear a word I said? You've been meditating for over 3 and a half hours! THREE AND A HALF HOURS!"

Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "I've meditated for longer."

"You need to get out of this room. So I was thinking that maybe…" Suddenly Beast Boy's voice lost it's volume. "I mean… would you like to… I don't know… picnic on the roof?" He flashed another 'please' grin.

Raven thought it over, when really it required no thought.

"Actually… that sounds nice."

* * *

"Oh, did you hear about Cyborg's girlfriend?" Beast Boy asked, taking a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"No." Raven admitted, sipping her tea.

"Neither did we until she called tonight! Oh man, it was great! He answered the phone and was all like 'Oh, Sugar Bunny! How are you, honey?" At this point, Beast Boy dropped his sandwich and curled up into hysterical laughter.

She almost smiled. Hell, she almost laughed. Instead, she took a long sip of her hot tea before laying back, staring up at the stars. Beast Boy couldn't help it. He smiled down at her, his emerald eyes tracing across her every feature, memorizing everything from her messed strands of hair to her half-closed eyes.

"This… is nice…" Raven admitted softly and Beast Boy's eyes lit up. She turned to him and gave him what he had been trying for for forever.

She smiled. Nothing could've made Beast Boy happier.

* * *

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." It was after midnight.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Something was missing and she knew what it was.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She just had hoped that it wasn't true.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Hours of meditation hadn't changed a thing.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She wanted him. She hated him because she wanted him. She wanted to feel loved, to feel accepted.

She couldn't meditate. She just couldn't. No matter what she did, she couldn't shake the longing that she felt. She wanted to feel how she felt when Malchior was the wizard and not the dragon. She wanted Rorek to love her.

He found herself outside his door. How and for what reason, she couldn't be sure. His unique aura tingled over her skin. This was dangerous. He was dangerous. Loving him was dangerous. Every red flag in Raven's mind was waving frantically. Every warning, every alarm echoed through her head. Still she stood there, a sigh leaving her lips as her fingers trailed across the door.

The door jolted out from under her fingers, sliding open as she stumbled back to throw her arms up, blocking the blinding white light that greeted her.

"Who goes?" came the soft accented voice of Rorek as the light dimmed. Raven couldn't speak. She wanted to run, wanted to retreat to the safety of her room. Still she didn't move. She couldn't move.

"Ah, Lady Raven." Rorek said in recognition. The white light faded from his hand. "I'm sorry about my outburst, I'm easily startled after years of being attacked by evils. What ails you, milady?"

Why did she come here? Why did she put herself into this kind of situation? Surely she didn't want to feel her heart beating out her chest, his aura overwhelming her, and his voice calling to her.

"I'm… I… I'm not sure…" Raven admitted.

"If you wish, milady, you may enter. We may, perhaps, discuss what may be ailing you? Sometimes it helps to know what is wrong when searching for a solution."

Raven took a step forward uncertainly.

"Are you still holding anger towards me, milady Raven?"

Raven shook her head, unsure of what else to do. He stepped forward, cautiously laying a hand on her shoulder and brushing against her mind comfortingly. Throwing her arms around him, she buried herself into his shoulder and let him in to a small space of her mind, still keeping tight barriers. She couldn't speak, nonetheless explain. His presence in her mind was comforting and she fought to maintain her barriers, fought to not show him everything she ever was.

Comforted by his very presence, Raven fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

Morning light pierced Raven's eyelids with an odd ferocity. Her room was NEVER this bright… so where was she?

Someone shifted behind her, his arm draped over her waist. She remembered now. This was Rorek's room…

Panic flooded Raven's mind and she jumped up. This jolted Rorek awake and he sat up with an equal speed.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a rushed alarm. He was used to being jolted awake by monsters such as dragons or goblins, but this was no such case. Raven shook her head, unsure as to what message she was trying to get across by doing so. No… but no what? No, nothing's wrong? No, don't come near me? No what? Whatever it was, Rorek seemed to get it. He stood softly, slowly, and approached her as one might approached an injured animal.

"It's okay, milady, honest. Your fears have reason, but at the same time, do not. You understand, right?"

Raven shook her head again, unable to find her voice.

"I assure you that none of what you fear will happen while I am with you. Therefore, there is truly no reason for you to retain such fears. Please, milady Raven, I do not wish to see you so uneasy."

His hand stroked her face softly, soothingly, like everything else he did.

"I… Rorek… I need to know… Do you… Do you love me?"

She looked away from him. She couldn't bare to hear the answer, but she had to. He couldn't love her… he hardly knew her! Still… she needed to know. She needed to assure herself that he had no feelings for her so she could just forget it. She needed to face it to get over it.

"It would be… ungentlemanly… of me to admit to such a sacred emotion so soon. Of course, I do not know how such things are done in this time… In my time, however, a gentleman would approach a lady and inform her of his intentions. After this, he would then ask to court the lady of his affections. If your question is one of that manner, then yes, I would wish to court you."

Raven blinked up at him, stunned. It wasn't supposed to be like this… What should she do? He seemed to be awaiting an answer. Did he ask a question?

"Uh… Did you just…"

"Milady Raven, may I court you?"

"As in… A… Relationship?"

Rorek nodded. Raven decided to blame most of this on the fact that he knew nothing of this time period. She almost decided to say that it was because he knew nothing about her, but then she remembered that she had let him into her mind that night. And after she slept… Did he manage to see more with her defenses down? How much did he really know about her now? She gulped.

"I understand if you are afraid, milady, and I will also understand if you deny my request. After all, we've only just met…"

"Yes." Raven blurted, covering her mouth with her hand. Did she just say that? Did she want that?

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes. Yes!" Another feeling suddenly overwhelmed her panic. This was another chance to love… Maybe this time it would be better. Maybe they could love without the heartache. He asked her out… Like truly out… Not even Malchior had said anything about a relationship… she had just assumed that… but here he was, asking her out! A relationship… a real relationship, not a manipulative one. He WANTED to get to know her, to love her…

To love her…

A demon…

To love…

Did he know?

"Are you sure? I mean… I'm not exactly…" Raven began, but Rorek stopped her with a soft finger on her lips.

"I know what you are. I know the risk. Even so, you should not suffer for the faults of the fathers before you. You are your own and you are a good person at heart. I admire that about you. You overcame such an evil, controlled it, and used it to make a good person. Never before have I seen such a feat worthy of angels."

She wanted to cry. How long had she wanted to hear those words? She hugged him. She never wanted to stop hugging him. Never before had she felt like this. Nothing could go wrong. He was going to be good to her. She would be truly loved…

((GOD! This chapter took my forever! Why? I don't know! SORRY GUYS!))


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Disclaimer- (Dihs-clay-mr) n'- A statement which states that one or more people or peoples do not obtain the copyrights or any other rights to a or more than one thing or things, thus avoiding lawsuit.

A/N: Wee. Happy? Is the ficcy getting happy? Like it? Ah. Don't get used to it.

Chapter Eighteen

"Wow Rae… you're out of your room… What happened to your cloak? Did Starfire wash laundry again? I thought Robin told her not to use bleach in the darks…" Beast Boy trailed off, glancing over her pale blue cloak. This had only happened twice. Once because of Starfire's lack of knowledge of bleach and once because she was in love… Beast Boy cringed.

"No… Cyborg washed the last loads of laundry." Raven said in a voice that sounded oddly familiar to… Beast Boy gasped.

But he kept his mouth shut. He should've known. Rorek the gentleman had won her affections…again… He tried not to frown. Something inside him boiled, but he just smiled, pretending to be happy for her.

Hmph.

Mages.

He didn't like her anyway… right? Of course not. Rorek could have her… Right? No. No, he couldn't, but he did. Worst of all, there was nothing he could do about it…

* * *

Raven was humming. Everyone stared. Why was Raven humming? The last time she hummed was… and her cloak… Slowly, as if a small wave of realization passed over each Titan in turns, everyone seemed to make a small smiling 'o' with their mouths. Starfire smiled brightly, Robin smiled in a 'told her so' kind of way, and Cyborg smiled in a mischievous way. Beast Boy was on the couch, staring at the TV screen even though there was nothing on it. He could see her in the reflection, heading towards the kitchen, oblivious to them all.

Why was he jealous? He crossed his arms over his chest. He should've known he'd have no chance. After all, all he was was annoying. Green eyes darted away from the blank TV screen and he lay down instead, staring at the ceiling. It had been 3 days now. 4 days since Rorek first showed up. How could Raven had fallen head over hills on the first day? She known him for over a year… but after one day…

If Beast Boy didn't know better, he'd think Rorek had bewitched Raven, but he knew better. He knew better.

It just wasn't like Raven to jump into things… especially things like this… Of course, he was forgetting Malchior. How long had she known Malchior? A little over a week? Look what happened to that relationship. Didn't she learn? Beast Boy turned on the TV just for the sake of having it on, so Raven wouldn't wonder. That was all Beast Boy did, right? Play games, crack jokes, and watch TV. She would worry if he was doing none of the above. What did she know? Sure, he had fun doing those things, but he could do other stuff, too!

He knew being angry at her wouldn't help, but he couldn't help it. Anger was a lot better to feel than hurt or rejection, so he let it burn safe inside him. This was one of those times where you just hold your breath until your alone, holding it all in until it's safe to rush out. Emerald eyes focused on the TV, but nothing sunk in.

Raven leaned over the back of the couch, taking a bite of her apple.

"What 'cha watching'?" she asked genuinely in a voice that would've made Beast Boy jump for joy… if only he had caused it.

"Dunno." He stated simply, truthfully. Raven walked around the couch and Beast Boy had to sit up to make room for Raven. After he sat up, she sat right next to him, looking at him. Beast Boy pretended to watch TV. Of course Raven knew better.

"Beast Boy… what's wrong? You haven't been like this since…" Since Terra died… closed up… distant… like she so often was. They had switched roles and instantly Raven felt bad for it. She let her sentence trail off, hoping she hadn't brought up old scars. He smiled at her, fake. She frowned. He was trying to comfort her. Why?

"I'm fine." he lied and she knew it. She could see hurt in his eyes, but from what? She wondered if she should push it. What would he say if she pushed the subject? Would he just snap? She stood. This was something she wasn't going to risk, but was that selfish? If she pushed him, he might yell at her and say hurtful things about them all, but what would be the damage if she left him to boil in his own feelings? She knew what it was like to be like that and she would hate to let anybody do that to themselves, but even so…

Some things are best worked out on your own. Raven walked away, but Beast Boy knew he hadn't fooled her.

* * *

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Distracted by distant wonderings of Beast Boy's sorrow, Raven didn't hear the door at first.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

It wasn't the knocking that got her attention. What got he attention was the aura. HIS aura. She opened the door for him and he smiled down at her with sparkling ice blue eyes.

"I was forcibly taken by your joyful foreign friend to the 'mall of shopping'." he said and Raven smiled, suppressing the odd urge to _giggle_.

"Uhm… it's just the mall. Starfire is the only one who calls it 'mall of shopping' and that's because she's… foreign." Raven was going to say Tamaranian, but that would require a lot of explanation.

Rorek nodded. Explanation enough.

"So, how did you enjoy the mall?"

"Well… it reminded me of the Bazaars in Asia. Crowed, loud, hot, and full of false claims. Also, it was a wonderful look into the culture of this time period. Overall I found it amazing, but crowded."

Raven nodded, though she was not sure if she agreed with the 'amazing' part. She moved aside, letting Rorek step into her room as he continued.

"I was going to get you some flowers, but the ones at this 'mall' had already been picked by others and were for sale. Also, they were surrounded in clear clingy stuff that I really did not find natural. If I were to get you any flowers, I would prefer to pick them myself… although your 'leader' pulled me away from the free flowers just outside this 'mall' and carefully explained how they were planted there by people to look good, not to be picked."

Once again Raven tried not to laugh.

"It's the thought that counts."

He smiled and brushed his hand across her cheek lovingly.

"Indeed."

* * *

5 days. It had been 5 days. They seemed REALLY close for 5 days! Beast Boy frowned. He would hold her, softly, and she would let him. No one ever held Raven as much as he did. During training, Beast Boy found himself pounding the punching bag more than ever. Finally, muscles sore from the pounding, sweat clinging to his forehead, Beast Boy left the training room. Feeling the need to shower, he made his way down the hall towards the bathroom, a small white towel draped over his shoulders.

He lifted the white towel sorely to wipe the sweat from his forehead before it got into his eyes. The thick rough white material feel over his eyes as he walked, but he kept walking. He decided to let his super animal senses guide him down the halls for just a moment. He took the turn around the corner a bit too early and smashed into the corner. He dropped the towel back down to his shoulders, grabbing his pained arm.

After much rubbing, his arm felt a little better, and Beast Boy turned to continue down the hall. Two figures seemed to be leaning against Raven's door down the hall. Beast Boy knew who they were. The no-shows to training. Raven and Rorek. Just thinking those two names together made something under his skin crawl. Biting back his anger, he kept walking down the hall. Rorek or no, he needed a shower.

That was when he leaned in over her, his white hair falling softly around her face. With a swallow of suddenly pounding fear, Beast Boy got closer, watching them, entranced. Through the sheet of white hair he saw the mage press his lips against hers. Beast Boy stopped, staring. Nothing happened. No lights flickered, no glass shattered. Raven just stood there and let him, her cloak a soft feathery white.

The kiss was brief, but it was enough. Raven's eyes flickered open, but didn't immediately stare up into Rorek's like some sappy romance. Her violet eyes opened already fixed on Beast Boy. For a moment, he stared at her in a gaping disbelief. He didn't snap out of it until she spoke.

"Beast Boy…" she began, her voice a shaky and failing attempt at monotone, her eyes sparkling with something hidden. Beast Boy didn't want to hear it. He ran. With her voice echoing softly in his ears and that sight engraved into his eyes he ran. He didn't stop running until the bathroom door was locked. Slowly he sank down to the cool tile floor.

Why? Why her? Why did he have to be STUPID enough to fall for her? When he stood, he had to use the sink for support. He just couldn't stop shaking… couldn't stop… He knew that he wasn't her type. He knew that she would never love him…. So WHY? Why had he just let himself fall? Did he let himself fall? Could he have really prevented this? No… probably not. With a sigh he made his way to the tub and turned on the water.

He knew it would happen, so why did it hurt so much?

* * *

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Raven cracked open an eye in annoyance. She walked towards the door, her dark blue cloak trailing the floor just barely. She opened the door all the way and turned around to walk back towards the bed.

"Come in." she said simply and Rorek took the invitation, stepping cautiously into her bedroom.

"Are you mad at me again, Lady Raven?" He asked, closing the door behind him. Raven sighed. She knew that question was coming.

"Yes and no."

Rorek seemed confused by this answer, so Raven sat down and crossed her legs, hoping to think of an explanation.

"I'm not mad that you kissed me… I'm just mad about when and where you kissed me."

"And who saw it." Rorek finished and Raven's head jolted up, looking at him.

It was Rorek's turn to sigh as he trailed across the floor, making his way over to sit a small distance from Raven.

"The Beast Boy…he has feelings for you, doesn't he? Feelings that you, perhaps, don't want to hurt?"

Raven turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He has no feelings for me, not like that. It doesn't matter anyway. Why bring up such a thing?"

"Maybe because it is true?"

"How would you know? You've only been here, what? 6 days?"

Rorek shrugged in a kind of surrender that didn't really feel like a surrender. It was more of an 'If you say so' then a 'You're right'. Raven pouted, upset, and Rorek laughed lightly.

"What is so funny?" Raven asked coldly, trying not to snap.

"You look like a kid throwing a temper tantrum." He responded with a good hearted grin. Raven shifted uncomfortably. Rorek laughed again.

"Do I look that funny?"

"Not funny, just… adorable."

She looked up at him suddenly, catching his eyes on accident. His eyes were just so… hypnotic. She blinked and looked away, trying hard not to get lost in the depths of his eyes. Softly he traced a line down Raven's cheek with his fingertips, catching a strand of her hair in his fingers and delicately twirling it. Raven tensed.

"What are you afraid of?" Rorek asked softly.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Yes you are, you visibly tensed."

Raven was silent. She refused to look up at the mage. Although, she seemed rather interested in the spot of light on her carpet that the window had provided. She wasn't really that interested, mind you. It was just something to stare at other than his eyes.

"Is it because of our powers or… something else?"

Once again, Raven was silent.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Raven."

He pulled her softly into his chest and she let him, breathing in his magical scent. His robes smelt of candles, incense, and dried herbs. Such relaxing smells… She fell into him, letting him surround her. Slowly her muscles relaxed. Only then did she realize how much she had tensed. Why had she tensed, anyhow? Letting him hold, just being this close to him, it made her heart race. There was no way that this could be a bad thing. Not when it felt so good. Good, but not right. Did it feel right?

"Don't worry, my Raven. I will not hurt you. I will save you."

It took a long, long moment for his words to register. Even when she heard them, she didn't understand them. By the time her mind caught what he had said, he had already moved her so that she was laying softly against the bed. Saving? She didn't need saving. Did she?

Rorek stood over her, but that was another thing she didn't notice at first. Everything seemed so sluggish… She just couldn't react to anything at all. The first wave of pain hit her when Rorek placed a white glowing hand onto her chest, drawing out a silvery cloud.

All Raven could do at first was gasp, trying hard to breathe in… Then all the air in her lungs whooshed out into a heavy scream. She heard something shatter in the room. Slowly the particles in the silvery cloud began to part from each other. White particles drifted down towards her body, back into her skin, leaving nothing but a thick blackness.

The pain tore through her, hot and electric. The black pain blocked her sight, paralyzed her. She screamed again. A roaring in her ears muffled all sound, leaving her with nothing but the pain and a metallic taste in her mouth as she screamed.

Rorek cried out suddenly and the blackness vanished from her eyes, the roaring ran from her ears. She still couldn't move, her muscles aching all over with pain that went to her very soul. Slowly she managed to roll her pained and foggy eyes over to where Rorek was leaning against the bookshelf, a green wolf clinging to his leg.

Red blood dripped from around the wolf's mouth as he tore into the flesh, shaking like a dog with a toy. Rorek cried out once more with the pain, trying to shake him off.

"Raven, please, call off the attack Beast."

Raven's throat was too sore to speak. Even so, what would she say? Would she have told Beast Boy to back up at Rorek's request after he just attacked her soul? Probably not. Not that it mattered, since at that moment Raven's eyes drifted shut heavily. All that was there as the dark and the distant sound of beeping…

((ARGH! I have had no time and no motivation for this! Write reviews! And convince Cartoon Network to play new episodes! I need new episodes!))


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Disclaimer: How creative can I get? I don't own Teen Titans. That's all. Now let me leave my creativity for this lovely fan fic of doom.

A/N: ARGH!

Chapter Nineteen

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Is she okay?" Beast Boy asked nervously, sipping some hot soy milk for comfort. Raven hadn't awoken since Rorek attack her. Presently the mage was sitting in a bare corner in the room that they had created to imprison Raven before. The man had repeatedly said that he had not harmed her. All he would say was that he was trying to heal her, to free her from her demon side. If they hadn't interrupted, she would've been able to feel freely. Or so he said.

So far, Raven had been tossing and turning as if having a nightmare, but nothing more.

"All of my scanners says she's fine. Whatever she's fighting, it's not physical." Cyborg said, exhausted. The metal teen sat beside Beast Boy, giving an odd look at the smell of the warm soy milk before trying to be comforting. "I'm sure she'll be all right, though I would like to know what Rorek did to her. What all did you see?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "I really didn't see much of anything, but Rorek's back. All I know is that he was standing over her, and she was screaming. Now she's like this." He took another long sip of the milk and set it down before standing up shakily. He walked slowly over to her bed and brushed violet strands of hair from her forehead. Raven's head turned from his touch with a soft whimper as she tossed to her side violently. Beast Boy bit his lip. Cyborg walked up beside him, placing his heavy metal hand onto the green changeling's shoulder comfortingly.

"She'll be okay, Beast boy. I promise. Whatever Rorek did to her, she can fight it. She's strong like that."

Beast Boy nodded, but he knew what he had to do. Later on, while everyone else was occupied, Beast Boy paid a special visit to Rorek's temporary cell.

* * *

"What did you do to her?" he demanded instantly, through a tiny speaker that had been installed by the door. Rorek's eyes turned up towards the door, though he didn't really see Beast Boy.

"I've already told you this. I was going to destroy her demonic side and purify her soul. I was going to save her."

Beast Boy slammed him fist against the wall and Rorek adjusted his vision to that noise, which happened to be a more accurate direction to gaze in.

"Then why won't she wake up!"

"You interrupted me. Her soul has been infected with white magic. Either the magic slowly eats away her demonic side, or her demons overpower the magic and destroy it. Honestly, I would be more frightened for her if she woke up."

Unsatisfied with that response, Beast Boy stormed off, his eyelids drooping. It was late, he had had a rough day, and the warm soy milk was kicking in. Beast Boy just wanted to go to sleep. Maybe in the morning it would all be better. Maybe… Just maybe…

* * *

Red eyes greeted Raven cheerfully. "Vui gohuc bcuj cka loca ul ckeb yalm." The noise was like someone mixed a drum with the hiss of a deflating balloon. It was just noise in an impossibly large range of tones. She shook her head. Not again. She knew the prophecy by heart… but the prophecy had meant Azarath, right? Not Earth. Hadn't this already been completed? Hadn't she already done enough?

"Cka moinkal ater bkor leba ohm lateta kal lockal. Ohm maok bkor laemh. Juyal yer guhbiza ckeb yalm. Ob ec kab guhbizam orr uckalb."

She shivered and shook her head again. "No. No. I won't do it. Not again. Not again…"

"Vui gohuc bcuj cka loca ul ckeb yalm…"

Raven's eyes snapped up to the source of the voice, cloaked by the shadows. She stared the red eyes down to their very core and spoke in the creature's own language.

"Cka jlujkagvi eb lorba. E yer huc mu ec."

The voice laughed, his voice laughed. "Ah, but you will my daughter. You will."

* * *

Raven awoke with a gasp and a shiver. With a wave of her hand she shut down all the machines she was hooked up to so she could relieve her skin of the sensors. Slowly she peeled off the round sticky pads that covered parts of her head and chest. Then she let her feet dangle above the floor. She felt her demonic energy pulsing under skin and she shivered again. She knew what she had to do. She knew who she had to see.

The floor was cold, so she tried to tread across it quickly to the door. No noise penetrated the silence of the halls as she stood there, listening for signs of life. The only noise was the hum of the Tower. Well, at least until she passed Beast boy's room. He snored. Loudly.

Passing through the halls unheard, like a flickering shadow in the dim moonlight, she managed to get to the cell. She didn't know how she knew he was there or how she knew what he had tried to do. At the time it didn't matter. Without any caution, she unlocked the door and stepped into the room. The door closed heavily behind her. Her entrance was enough to make the light sleeper jump, raising the lights to his palms as he did when startled.

Raven cowered into the closed door, her arms shielding her focusing eyes. The light dimmed and faded.

"Milady…" He whispered, astonished. Or was he fearful? Relieved? She couldn't tell. "You are awake…" He said and she knew the tone to that. Disbelief. Why? Was it odd for her to wake up after a nightmare? No… no, she knew why it was odd for her to be awake. It was because of what he did. The magic, she had fought it off… Did he think her demon side was weak enough to have fallen to the disappearing remains of an hour old spell?

"Rorek… I need you… I need you to help me…" She began, her voice soft. "I need you to kill my demon side. Finish it this time."

He approached her slowly, his hand brushing her cheek lightly as if to make sure she was really there.

"No attack Beast?" The mage asked with a soft smile, worry in his eyes.

"No attack Beast." Raven assured, stepping away from the door. "Just do it, please. I don't know how much longer I can handle it. I need my demon side gone. For once in my life, I need to be normal."

Rorek nodded and Raven maneuvered around the room so she was at the wall off to the right side of the door. He followed her, so serious that it seemed the movement was part of the ceremony.

"Are you ready?" He asked lightly and Raven nodded. She only hoped that she really was ready. The mage brought his hand over her chest again and she bit back cries of pain as the silvery cloud rose from her chest. The silver had darkened since the last time. Slowly the darkness began to peel itself away from the white, creating a cloud all its own. It was just like last time, which had Raven prepared enough. She only whimpered as tears of the soul ripping pain streamed down her cheeks. Her body began to weaken, but she did not sink to her feet.

The cloud was completely black as the white mist sunk back through Raven's skin. Rorek created a long glowing sword of energy and summoned the power to slay the cloud. With one finishing move, Rorek tore through the cloud with the blade.

The cloud moved, separating around where the sword had struck, climbing up the surface. The mist joined like thick black tentacles, lashing out towards Rorek. The blade vanished as the darkness surrounded his hand, his wrist, his arm…Rorek stumbled back, pure fear darting across his eyes. He lifted his other hand up, preparing a strike. The darkness covered that hand, too. It covered him as he tried to pull it away from his face. The darkness clung like glue and became more solid the longer it was out. Slowly red eyes formed, first two, then four. Out of reflex, Rorek summoned a burst of energy. The burst was enough to send the demon backwards, but not enough to kill it or make it any less solid.

The blackness fled back to Raven, sinking into her skin. This time she was not prepared. This time, she screamed. Painfully she sunk to the ground, eyes squeezed shut as she hugged herself tightly.

"Trigon…" Rorek heaved in disbelief, his breath obviously stuck in his throat as he gasped for air. "You… you are the spawn of Trigon…"

"Please, don't say it like that…" Raven said softly, trying hard to stop the tears by squeezing shut her eyes. For the moment, nothing was exploding. Even so, in that moment, Raven was scared. Horribly scared.

"Vui gohuc bcuj cka loca ul ckeb yalm…" Rorek began, softly, in disbelief.

"NO!" Raven screamed, hugging herself tighter. She knew the prophecy. She knew it well.

"Cka moinkal ater bkor leba ohm lateta kal lockal. Ohm maock bkor laenh."

"Please, Stop! I won't do it! I won't! Please!" She couldn't bear to hear it, not again. She had already dreamed it, the nightmare.

"Juyal yer guhbiza ckeb yalm. Ob er kab guhbizam orr uckalb."

Raven looked up at him, her eyes open, but blurred with tears. She understood what was to happen. Rorek, the Magician, Slayer of all manner of Evil things. What could be more evil than a demon out to end the world, right? Nothing is more evil than Hell and that was what she felt like just then, with curls of demonic power swirling just under her skin, begging to be released.

"Cka jlujkagvi eb lorba. E yer huc mu ec. I won't do it, Rorek. I swear…"

He knelt in front of her, his hand resting softly on her cheek, wiping away the tear that fell across her pale skin.

"I wish I could believe that, Lady Raven."

Fear welled up in Raven's chest and she tried to summon up the strength to stand, to run. Nothing came, though, no form of strength. She stayed there, frozen, on the floor. Her fear paralyzed her and choked her.

"It… It's already happened… but it stopped. It's over. It won't happen again, I swear. I'll stop it, please…"

Rorek's eyes flickered sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry, Raven."

She grabbed his robes, desperate.

"No! You can help me, right? Please! If you kill my demon side, then…"

Rorek shook his head. "The direct descendant of Trigon… that's too a powerful of a demonic influence for me to banish. You are a good person, milady, which is why I must do this…"

She tried again to stand, to run. Slowly she rose from the ground, too slowly. Rorek pulled her back down gently, as if he was trying to calm her at the same time.

"Please, milady Raven, don't make this more difficult than it must be. Try to understand. It is better for you to die a good person than to die after the demon takes you over. You death is not only better for this world, but better for your soul, though I be damned for it."

Raven shook her head, blinking to clear her eyes from the tears. White light began to surround Rorek's hand and just being so close to it made her cringe. This time Raven made it up and two steps towards the door before Rorek could react, but when he reacted, it was painful.

Sharp pain shot up her spine sending sharp shivers through her nerves. Unable to move, paralyzed by the attack to her back, Raven collapsed to the ground, landing hard. Not knowing what else to do, Raven screamed. A strong hand turned her so she was laying on her back. Gentle fingers smoothed her hair back from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Raven. I really did love you."

Raven choked on her screams as the white light formed a sword. The blade rose above her, a horrible bright threat. Accepting her fate, Raven squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the blow…

((Wee. Another chapter done.))


	21. Chapter Twenty

Disclaimer: sung badly to the tune of Jingle Bells Please don't sue. Please don't sue. Please oh please don't sue! I don't own this show at all, so please don't please don't sue! Please don't sue. Please don't sue. I don't own this show. If you sue, I have no cash, so please don't please don't sue!

A/N: … I am soooo out of it. Chapter Twenty! W00t!

Chapter Twenty

Beast Boy awoke with a start to the most horrible sound he had ever heard. Screams echoed down the hall and every single one of the heart wrenching sounds was a mix of emotions that caused the lights to flicker dangerously. Pain, fear, loss… Every emotion that could be screamed was present. Not one of the emotions in her voice sounded good. Raven was screaming with such force that Beast Boy thought the Tower would fall down before he got there.

The Tower didn't fall, though the lights began to burst, one by one, plunging the entire Tower into a horrible painful darkness. This was good for Beast Boy, his animal eyes could adjust better in solid dark than flickering light. His cheetah form took him down the hall before the other Titans realized what was going on. The closer he got to Raven, to more it seemed that the lights were still flickering, only this was a dark light. It was like lightning across the stormy night sky, if lightning was thick and black. The impossibility of it all swarmed before his eyes.

Human again, Beast Boy approached the frantic Raven carefully. She was pressed, standing, against the wall to the right of the door. He touched her gently and she flinched, but didn't stop screaming. Her eyes were locked to sight across the room that was shadowed, even by the dark flickering light. The horror of it weighed down on him without him even having to see it. Somehow, he knew what she was screaming at. He swallowed a heaviness in his throat and wrapped his arms around Raven, hugging her tightly.

"Shhh…." he whispered, stroking a hand through her hair. "It's okay. Please, calm down. Rae, it'll be okay, I swear…"

The other Titans entered, following Cyborg and his light equipped shoulder.

"What's going on?" Robin demanded, but no one listened. Raven was still screaming and things were still shaking, still flickering, still shattering. When Cyborg's light entered the room, Beast Boy realized that the flickering was not a dark light. Instead, it had been a substance even darker filling the room that made ordinary dark seem to illuminate. This thick blackness was exposed by the light. It seemed to come from everything and nothing.

There, amongst all the darkness, was a thick dripping red. When the dark began to retreat, the source of the red could be seen. Blood was splattered in every direction on the wall opposite them. A pile of robes lay in a pool of even more blood. The robes were ripped to shreds and the person who had been wearing them was mutilated beyond all recognition. Only, the Titans knew who it was.

At first there was denial. Maybe they were just robes. Who knows? Maybe Rorek could teleport and heal. Maybe he was fine. The idea was quickly dashed. White hair was visible under the caked blood.

Raven's screams died down so suddenly that the silence seemed to scream in her place. Beast Boy shifted her to see her face. The other Titans were too stunned to notice, as obvious as it was. Raven's eyes were open, but blank, and her mouth was open just slightly with her relaxed jaw. She seemed asleep… or something similar. Beast Boy slowly rested his fingers on her eyelids, dragging them down so that they were closed.

Robin was the first to turn around. He didn't turn to Raven in horror or anger. The turn was slow and trimmed with sorrow. His eyes ran over the unconscious face of Raven before looking up at Beast Boy.

"What are we going to do with her?" He asked, seemingly to Beast Boy. They all knew better, though. His question was one for the wind. No one knew what to say, since the question was not addressed to any individual one. Beast Boy clutched the unconscious Raven to him as if to protect her from the leader and Robin shook his head. His silence spoke volumes.

She's too dangerous. How can we keep her here? She loved him, what if she did this to us? She's done this before, she'll do it again. She's not a hero… she's a murderer. What are we going to do? It was like pet dog that bit a passerby. Do you keep the dog and try to train it or ship it off to the pound? If the dog did it more than once, do you put it down? What would it take for the murders to stop, for Raven to be the Raven they thought she was?

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Will she be okay?" Beast Boy asked, standing over Raven protectively. Cyborg nodded, as if he were afraid to say yes. What was okay anymore?

"It's a forced trance, that's all. Like emergency meditation. She'll come out when she's ready."

Lightly a green fingertip traced over the red gem that rested softly in Raven's forehead. He was almost expecting it to respond to his touch with a spark or a glow or something, but nothing happened. With a sigh, Beast Boy sat down in the chair that Cyborg had dragged up by the bed for him earlier.

Beast Boy knew what that meant. She had hidden in her mind. Would she ever come back out? What if she was traumatized for life and never came out? What if she was just trying to fade away in her trance? Suddenly he felt like he should save her, but how do save someone when they're only in their mind?

Go to their mind and drag them out, of course.

* * *

Raven's room was as dark as usual, but Beast Boy still shivered. The room was creepier when she wasn't in it. It seemed like the paintings on her wall would grab him. Slowly he walked over to the mirror, his arms pressing tightly against his chest as he crossed them. The mirror gleamed softly in the dark, as if by its own light. Softly he stroked the path of the brief light with his green fingers.

A blackness touched his fingers suddenly, a blackness that Beast Boy had thought was the reflection of the room. Quickly he drew away and stumbled back, but the darkness had been freed now. The inky blackness reached in wild tentacles for Beast Boy, filling the room on the way.

The wall pressed into Beast Boy's back, showing him that he had nowhere else to go. He began to cry out, but it came out as only a gasp. A darkness like no other consumed him and he was helpless to fight it. Was this truly from Raven's mind?

The blackness that surrounded him was thick and sticky like half dried blood. In fact, it was almost the same color now, now that his eyes were adjusting. Thick, black, blood. The green changeling shivered at the thought, hugging himself in an attempt to find much needed security.

"RAVEN!" He called out, but his voice seemed to be swallowed by the thick substance. He gulped. He had really gotten in over his head this time. Bravely he took a step forward and hit the sticky stuff. Quickly he backed away, trying to pry the stuff off of his face. He backed back into another wall of the stuff and he truly panicked. Not knowing what else to do, he ran. He ran through the stuff, but he still ran.

"RAVEN! RAVEN!"

After what seemed like an eternity of running and screaming, Beast Boy found he couldn't do it anymore. Endless stickiness, but no Raven. He fell to his knees and the stuff seemed to back away from him, giving him room to breathe. Slowly the darkness turned to true darkness, not just thick black blood. The walls turned solid and formed an almost red gleaming stone. The stone walls formed a long hall that seemed to be a dead end. Well, so it seemed from a distance.

Beast Boy gasped in some much needed air before looking up. Slowly he rose to is feet, cautiously glancing about. The hall in front of him seemed to be the only thing that existed in this new world in Raven's mind. So, what other choice did he have, but to follow it?

Slowly a figure appeared in the hall, a figure that was looking to the ground. It was a woman, an older woman with long black hair. He gulped as his stomach knotted. He knew who the woman was, without her looking up. Who else would it be, in Raven's mind? It was Arella, right? No. No, he was wrong. It wasn't Arella, this woman was older. And others were appearing around her. A whole multitude of peoples, as if the room had expanded to the size of a whole planet. Azarath. Hesitation halted Beast Boy's progress as he watched the people standing there, still.

"We are peaceful people, child. We do not war, only watch. This fate that you have brought us will not start us to violence. Accept you fate, child, as we have accepted ours."

The woman spoke with the same monotone that Raven used and he knew who this was. Azar, the woman who had raised Raven. He rubbed his eyes, not believing. What he saw when he was through rubbing them was horrible. He saw them all, the entire world of people, die. Just, die. He couldn't remember how. They all seemed to die at once, but all separately at the same time. It didn't really matter how each one died, all that mattered was that it did. All that mattered was the blood that seem to rush from each one of them as they died. Even if Beast Boy closed his eyes, he could still see it all happening. All of Azarath. Every single one… Everyone, but Raven… So Raven was the only survivor from Azarath? Did that mean that she… She couldn't have killed a whole planet!

Could've she?

He didn't want to believe it, he wouldn't believe it. This was her mind, so maybe it was all just a bad dream. A very bad dream… He ran, not knowing what else to do and tired of just standing. He slipped in the blood and fell, sliding to the end of the wall. He smashed into the stone roughly and stars flashed before his eyes, reminding him that he was real in here. Swallowing away the knot in his throat he stood shakily, using the wall as support. Slowly he turned down the hallway, gazing softly in wonder. There was another hall, a turn at the end of the first one. What seemed like a stone maze was not that truly, for you could not get lost if you only had one option. Carefully, still sliding with the blood, Beast Boy started down the new hall. He had to find Raven, he just had to…

"How could you be so selfish?" Came Arella's voice and suddenly the back of the woman was visible, just like the backs of all the people of Azarath had appeared. Why could he not see their faces?

"What is one life, if to save millions?"

A bright light flashed, blinding, and Beast Boy fell to the ground again. Sharp pain shot through him as all his hair was jolted from his body. With desperate gasps he watched Arella fade away, he watched her die. When he could finally breath again, which took some time, he stood.

There was another turn, another hall, and he wanted to yell 'NO MORE!', but that wouldn't get him anywhere. Who here would listen to his pleas? Slowly, carefully, painfully, he made his way down the other hall. The other hall contained Rorek, he knew it was going to. He stared at the long white hair that fell down the mage's back.

"I'm sorry Raven, I really did love you."

Softly, in that moment, the other voices returned. Love. They all said it. Arella, Azar, now Rorek. That word echoed across the room as Rorek died. Every time the word 'Love' echoed off the walls, blood oozed from Rorek's skin as if bubbling through the tissue. Slowly it seemed that Rorek's blood tore him apart from the inside, breaking through his body in thick black waves. All the while the word 'love' repeated, as if it was connected to death itself. All that loved her had died…

Beast Boy had to clutch the wall to stop himself from collapsing. He felt wave after wave of horrible sickness wash over him. He couldn't take the sight-or smell-of all this blood! Finally he sank to his knees, leaning against the wall and throwing the contents of his stomach to the dark blood stained floors.

Doors appeared at the end of this hall, dark tall doors that were heavy with metal clasps and locks. Beast Boy didn't immediately go to it. Instead he sat there, head between his knees, until most of the shaking and sickness had finished with him. He couldn't remember how long he had been inside Raven's mind anymore. He was lost in her mind and in time. Also, he found it so hard to understand. I mean, Raven's mind was creepy before, but it wasn't full of bloody deaths.

Bravely he pushed at the doors and they swung open with much difficulty. When they did swing open, though, they did it one large loud movement and slammed against the wall. The walls pulsed and glimmered with the life of the stuff that he was in before. At the wall opposite the door he saw her. Her body was limp and blood-stained, but Beast Boy was sure it wasn't her own blood. The thing held her up in the air, against the pulsing wall. As the noise echoed off the halls, Raven's eyes slowly fluttered open, cracking through a small amount of blood to do so.

"B-beast Boy…" She choked out as her eyes focused. He took a careful step forward, letting the heavy doors close the nightmare away behind him. "Raven!" He called up to her, running to the center of the room before she stopped him.

"NO! What THE HELL are YOU doing HERE? I thought you knew better than to go in my mind, but I guess I mistook you for someone with a brain!"

Beast Boy stumbled back.

"I came to get you, you won't wake up!"

"I know that DAMN WELL, Beast Boy! I WANT to be here, away from YOU!"

Beast Boy took a deep breath. He told himself it was another illusion. This Raven wasn't real, couldn't have been real. Raven would never say those things to him, right?

"Rae, I…"

"Don't. Call. Me. RAE!"

He gulped, ready to cry. He just wanted to leave this horrible place. When had Raven's mind gotten like this? Why was she trapped in this stuff? Maybe if he saved her from the stuff she could wake up! Maybe it was the stuff speaking, not her! Maybe if he saved her she'd have to thank him for it… She could take all of this back and he could make her happy.

The forbidden doorway, a towering archway made of gray stone, rose beside him. It was the portal back to the Real World, a portal out of here. He couldn't leave, not yet, even though a sudden wind was pushing him there, pushing him away. He had to save Raven! He had… to…

Beast Boy woke up, gasping, on Raven's floor, blood caked all over his body and sticking to the bottoms of his shoes. Shakily he rose, his lungs aching with the effort it took to breathe. He decided that a warm shower would really help. Sticky footsteps making horrible noises against the floor, Beast Boy walked to the bathroom slowly.

In the hospital room, Raven screamed.

((wee. Odd chapter, yes? Hope it wasn't confusing. Don't think too much about the thing inside Raven's head. It'll only hurt. nod nod))


	22. Chapter Twenty One

1Disclaimer: Okay, I've been saying this for 20 chapters now. Oh, I know. Let's play a game. You tell me what I say right here! Do you know what I say here? You do? Yay! Let's play again!

A/N: Wee. Okay people, this is where you join me in understanding what the Hell is going on, okay? So, put on these thinking caps, these translator earplugs, and follow the little red flag I'm holding, okay? Please try to keep up, seeing as it's easy to get lost. Please stay with your tour group at all times. Thank you.

Chapter 21-

Beast Boy sipped his soy milk nervously, watching Raven out of the corner of his eye. Of course she was making him nervous. She had been up and about for two days now, as if nothing had happened. In her eyes was some kind of brick wall, a brick wall he was tired of hitting. Everyone else just let it go, happy to see Raven had recovered so quickly. Just because she was up did NOT mean that she was recovered.

Raven sipped her tea slowly and picked up her fork, poking at her meal as if expecting it to jump. Normally, if you treated your meal with such caution in this Tower, it would jump, but Starfire hadn't cooked tonight. Robin had, and pretty well, too.

Still, Raven poked at her meal like a child who 'wasn't hungry'. She seemed so uncomfortable just sitting there. No one else seemed to notice, but Beast Boy had noticed and it was bugging him. He expected her to stand up and leave. For a moment, he thought she'd stand up and ask to be excused. Then she would meditate for hours… right? That would at least seem normal. Instead, she just sat there, playing with her food.

Slowly she took a bite and set down her fork, sipping her tea again. No one spoke. There was nothing to say. The silence was highly uncomfortable, it left the mind to wander. Wandering minds were not good, considering what they could wander to. So, Beast Boy decided to speak up.

"So… uh… Why did the kid cross the playground?"

Someone groaned in the silence.

"To get to the other SLIDE!" He began to laugh, but the false laugh faded off only to be replaced by a nervous chuckle. "Yeah…" he began when nobody responded. "Never mind."

The rest of the day was pretty much just as quiet. Cyborg got a call from his girlfriend again, and they chatted for almost and hour. That was when Robin disconnected them on "accident". Beast Boy had tried to find the incident funny, but he just couldn't with Raven sitting beside him.

Finally, Beast Boy had had enough. He waited until late that night, after dinner, when Raven decided to finally go back to her room. Then he caught her in the hallway, so they were away from the other Titans.

"Raven, we need to talk."

Raven responded by trying to push past him, but he blocked her way. After that, she leaned against the wall, giving up on getting to her room. That was weird in itself. She could teleport. If she really wanted to go to her room, she would've. Still, something in her mind told her to stay. She could use this conversation to her advantage. She needed to prepare him, to save him from what she was going to do. She had to push him away, so he wouldn't care. If he didn't care, then he wouldn't be hurt.

"Look, Rae… I'm worried about you."

Raven made a sort of snorting sound. "There's nothing to talk about."

Beast Boy shook his head. Raven frowned. She had to make him hate her. If he hated her, he wouldn't be hurt. She wanted to tell him, but if she did, but then he'd try to stop her. She HAD to do this, she HAD to, which meant she'd have to make him hate her.

"No, Raven… There was something in your mind…"

"I know. It's MY mind."

"Then tell me what it was! Tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." A lie. An obvious lie. So obvious that Beast Boy picked up on it right away. He didn't push the issue, though. Instead he said: "Why, Rae?"

"Why what?" Raven asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Why do you not trust me?"

For a moment she was silent. She wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. Every part of her was screaming, trying to fight to maintain Beast boy's affections, not destroy them. That was exactly opposite of her goal, though. He had to hate her, he just had to. If he didn't hate her… if he cared like this… She shook her head.

"Look, Beast Boy, why don't you just go play a video game and leave me alone?"

"No! I'm worried about you! What part of that do you not understand?"

"What part of leave me alone do you not understand?"

Beast Boy frowned, stubbornly standing his ground. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Because I care about you!"

This was going to be harder than she thought. At first, she had thought that maybe making him hate her would be easy. It wasn't. He was the only one of the Titans who would cling to her like this and it was getting damn annoying. Beast Boy continued.

"Seriously, Rae, I care about you. I mean, Hell, I care about you more than Rorek did!"

Raven's attentions were caught by that, the still open wound aching.

"Don't bring him into this." Raven said in a deep voice that was forced into calm. It was a scary voice, a voice that said 'push it and you're dead'. Well, if looks could kill, Beast Boy would've died.

"Why not? I mean, you knew him for what, a week? How is it that you know someone for a WEEK and you trust him more than you trust someone you've known for YEARS? How is it that you were all over him, but you still hide from the rest of us? He didn't understand you! He hardly even KNEW you!"

"Like you do!" Raven snapped, a nearby light bulb shattering ferociously.

"You're right. I don't know you. I don't understand you. You won't let me, either. No one understand you and you know what? That's your own damn fault! If you would talk to us, maybe…"

"Shut. Up."

"NO!" Everything that Beast Boy had wanted to say to her for so long, everything that had built up… This time he was letting everything he thought out and she wasn't going to run and hide. He had to tell her everything. "I'm sick of this act! Quit hiding from us! Quit hiding from ME! Rae, I know I don't understand, but I wish I could. Rorek didn't even TRY to understand. As soon as he found out what you were…"

"SHUT UP!" All the light bulbs in the hall shattered with a strong burst of light. The glass fell to the floor like exhausted fireworks, reflecting the moonlight in little glimmers as they rested on the floor. Raven threw her hand up to her ears, trying to block out beast Boy's voice. For a moment, she just wanted to leave. She wanted to forget about making him hate her. So what if she hurt him? No… she couldn't hurt Beast Boy like that. She needed to stick through this. She needed him to hate her.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

"Rae, I'm sorry…" Raven dropped her hands from her ears, but still backed away from his hand as it touched her shoulder. He flinched away, rejected.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

"Stop it, Rae!"

"Don't call me Rae."

"Why, because it's a friendly nickname? Can't even have a friendly nickname?"

It took so much concentration to fight back the tears that were furiously burning the back of her eyes.

"Don't jump to conclusions." She said in such away that is truly meant 'yes, we can't be friends'.

"What else am I supposed to think, Raven? You never treat me like a friend! We are friends, right?"

Friends? No. Not friends. Can't be friends. Go away. Raven swallowed every ounce of feeling in her, feeling her body go cold and numb. She felt so empty, having to do this. Empty was better that the other option, though. She'd rather be empty than controlled. It was better to be empty than it was to murder your friends.

"And if I said no?"

Beast Boy sniffed and only then did Raven realize that a small sheet of tears had sparkled over his eyes. She threw up her hood, making sure it thoroughly shadowed her face.

"I can't believe that, Rae…"

"Why not? You said yourself that I don't treat you like a friend."

"I just can't believe it!" Beast Boy insisted, stubborn.

"Well, you never were that bright." Raven said, only to find her voice shaking. Did Beast Boy hear her voice shaking? God, she hoped not. She drew in a shaky breath and tried to steady herself and her voice.

"Stop it!"

Raven shrugged. "Fine, I will. The only reason I stayed was because you seemed to want to talk, remember? Next time you want to talk to someone, may I suggest a certain statue? I hear she's not going anywhere anytime soon."

Beast Boy was stunned. She didn't just say that. There was no way she just said that. He opened his mouth to remark, but closed it again, like a fish out of water. Raven took the opportunity to push past him. Then, in a sudden burst of… of… oh, who know what it was. Stupidity. Yes, that sounds about right. In a sudden burst of stupidity, Beast Boy chose to say something. Something that just rolled out of his mouth without thought. Something that would hold the same sting as her words, something to lash out, to get rid of the ache. It was easier to be angry than it was to be hurt.

"At least Terra is still in one piece!"

Raven paused, but she didn't turn.

"At least Rorek only hurt me."

With that, she left. Beast Boy caught his breath, slowly realizing what had just happened and what had been said. He heard her door close, but it wasn't a slam. It was soft. That was much scarier than a slam. At least if the door had slammed, he knew she was mad and would get over it. Since the door closed silently, however, he wasn't sure what she felt or if she'd get over it.

* * *

Raven collapsed onto her bed, letting out a 'whoosh' of air that she had been holding in.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She muttered, trying to banish the horrible feeling that was gathering in her throat and in her heart. A tightness squeezed her chest, made it hard to breath. She chanted, hoping it would go away. She chanted, hoping to banish the thoughts of him. It wouldn't go away. She stood and walked over to her desk, tracing her finger around the edge of her meditation mirror.

The mirror glimmered softly in response and a figure slowly appeared, red eyes blinking.

"You can't do it." Hissed the red Raven. Ignoring the voice, Raven reached for a sheet of paper and a pen that she kept in one of the drawers. Then she looked at the remaining contents of the drawer. Ritual items. A bag of dried herbs, a couple of small candles, and a ritual dagger. She closed the door, watching the light flash off the dagger as she did so. The thing in the mirror laughed at her as she drew a shaky breath.

"You can't do it." she repeated and Raven turned the mirror over so she would have to talk through the wooden desk. Raven uncapped the pen and stared down at the paper. How long would it be until they all fell asleep? Not long, she hoped. Slowly she lowered the pen to the page.

* * *

Beast Boy paced a hole in his floor, pondering. He wanted to know if Raven was okay. The thing in her mind… He shook his head. God, he couldn't take it! He'd try again tomorrow. Deciding that as his course of action calmed him down, but not by much. He picked up an old teddy bear and clutched it to his chest as he sat down on the bottom bunk of his bed.

He rested his head on the pillow and swung his feet up to the bed. He should at least TRY to go to sleep. He'd apologize tomorrow, but now he had to sleep. Sleep would help.

* * *

_Dear Titans,_

_Please, do not jump to any conclusions. Let me explain myself. I'm sorry I had to have been so obvious about this, but I felt it better than giving you all false hopes. I'm sorry I had to do this. Once again, let me explain._

_Trigon has returned. I feel his hold on me grow with every day, every breath. Arella died to stop him last time, who would have to die to stop him now? I just want all of you to be safe. That is why I must do this._

_To Starfire:_

_Thank you for being my best friend. Every laugh and every smile that you gave me has left an everlasting impression on my soul. I hope to carry these smiles with me where ever I may go._

_To Robin:_

_Stop obsessing over Slade and take Starfire out on a date already, would you? Please, help her in this time for me, okay? Help them all. Don't blame yourself, there was nothing you could do. _

_To Cyborg:_

_Thank you for acting like a big brother to us all. We all need it. We all need you. They need you now. Watch over them for me._

_To Beast Boy:_

_I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, honest. I tried to make you argue with me, I tried to hurt you. I thought that if you didn't care about me when it happened, that it wouldn't hurt so much. I never wanted to hurt you. Never. I…well, I… God, it's even hard for me to write. I love you. I have for some time, now. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before. Please, find happiness. For me. _

_Raven

* * *

_

Beast Boy sighed and rolled over, clutching the Teddy Bear tighter to his chest. Red digital numbers blared at him from the dresser. It was almost 1 in the morning. Why couldn't he sleep? He rolled over to try again.

* * *

Raven opened the drawer again, staring at the ritual dagger. The dagger was never meant to draw blood, but it wouldn't matter. It wasn't like she was going to use it afterwards. She traced the dagger from it's handle down to the smooth flat side of the blade. The handle was a black polished raven with two shining red diamond-shaped eyes. In it's talons, just before the blade, were two dark blue gems. She lifted the blade awkwardly and quickly set it on the desk, gasping.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't. Everything inside of her was panicking. She stumbled over to the bed, only to collapse into it's wrinkled dark blue sheets. Tears began to stream down her eyes. She had to do this. She HAD to.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She chanted, trying to calm herself down.

Beast Boy swung his legs over the edge of his bed and glared at the clock again. 1:05. He sighed angrily and stood up, still clutching his doll. Why could he not sleep? He knew why, suddenly. He was still thinking of Raven. He needed to apologize. But hadn't he already told himself that he'd apologize tomorrow?

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven continued. It took her several minutes of chanting to calm herself. After that, she chanted to slowly lift the dagger off the shelf, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't see it coming. If she saw it coming she would back out. She couldn't back out.

Beast Boy left his room and stared down the black empty halls, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. His feet made no noise as he slowly walked down the hall. Raven was going to kill him for waking her up so late, but he couldn't help it. He needed to apologize so he could go to sleep.

The dagger loomed over her heart, steady. Slowly she chanted like a countdown.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

3...

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

2...

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

1.

With that last chant, the dagger came down.

((Took me long enough, didn't it? Sorry, I had 2 plays I was in and practice kept me out until midnight on school nights. Urgh! Oh well, review!))


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Disclaimer: You are getting sleeeeeeepy, very sleeeeepy. That's right. Just follow the old fashioned watch on a chain. There you go. Now, you are VERY sleepy… Now, when I snap my fingers you will wake up and not sue me. Okay? Snap!

A/N: Okie Dokie, don't have a heart attack. I'm getting to it. But, ya know… Since you guys are so panicky and already think she's dead… maybe I should end the fic early, huh? Hey, I did say there was character death. Don't look at me like that! Just read the fic and take a chill pill.

Chapter 22-

Blood splashed hotly against Raven's cheek and she flinched. For a moment she sat there, expecting death. When it didn't seem to come, Raven moved a bit. Well, she could still move. How long did it take to die? There came a soft noise just then… a sobbing noise? She cracked open an eye, then both.

Still her same room. Still her same bed. Still her same body. Nothing had changed. She looked over at the source of the sobbing noise to see Beast Boy, cradling an injured arm on the side of her bed away from the floor. Judging by his location and the relative position of the knife and the wound on his arm, she assumed that he had jumped into the knife to keep it from plunging into her chest. Frustrated by the failed attempt, knowing she'd never have the courage to do it again, Raven sat up.

They met eyes and simply stared at each other in silence for quite some time. Then, a few minutes later, Beast Boy spoke, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I… I had to apologize… I couldn't sleep…"

Raven didn't know what to do. She opened her mouth… and then closed it again. Finally, she settled for shaking her head.

"It's not your fault." She said, and her voice came out ten times softer than she had meant it. Her fingertips lightly brushed the bleeding gash in his arm and with a small burst of blue light the wound vanished. She went to take her fingertips away, but Beast Boy took her hand in his.

"Then what, Raven? Tell me something, please!"

His emerald eyes sparkled with pools of tears and Raven had to look away before she began to cry as well.

"Trigon…" she whispered. "He…" She trailed up and look back up into his eyes. "I can't do it, Beast Boy! I would rather die than hurt you, or any of the others!"

Beast Boy's grip tightened around her hand slightly, then relaxed again. In the silence that followed, Raven lifted a hand to brush the tears from Beast Boy's cheek. That did it. The green changeling collapsed against her, burying his head into her shoulder for comfort. His arms clasped her tightly as he sobbed. For a moment, Raven was stunned.

"Don't do it, Raven. Please. Don't kill yourself, Rae. Please. Promise me. Promise."

Raven wrapped her arms around him carefully, as if his pajamas would bite. His words, his plea, echoed through Raven's mind dimly. She was reminded of what she had told her mother. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought. She didn't promise. Faintly her words still echoed. What is one life, if to save many? She had been thinking that way when she did this, but she was not her mother. She could never do that. Never.

Words formed on her lips, words that had never left her mother's throat.

"I promise."

She brushed through his messy hair comfortingly. She had never done this before. It felt awkward to be comforting him like this. She felt something for him in that moment. Her lip trembled. She wanted to say so much to him, but she held it all back. All time faded away so that Raven didn't have a clue as to how long they had been like that. Eventually, Beast Boy's body got heavier and his breathing got deeper.

Raven groaned. He didn't.

Slowly she pulled away and the changeling began to snore softly. It wasn't annoying, but it was present. With a sigh she laid him down onto the bed, pulling the thick purple covers over his sleeping body. She tossed the dagger harmlessly to the floor and discovered something else on her bed. She touched the figure to find it was soft…

A teddy bear?

She smiled lightly, hugging the stuffed animal to her chest lovingly. Beast Boy draped an arm over her as she laid down beside him, like she was the teddy bear he seemed to have lost. She let him, seeing as she was the stuffed animal thief.

"I love you." Raven whispered to herself and Beast Boy stirred lightly. At first she was afraid that he had heard her. She didn't want him to hear her! Then, she realized that he was just fidgeting. With a slight sigh of relief, Raven closed her eyes and fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had in a while.

* * *

Beast Boy smiled, staring down at the sleeping girl that was clinging to his chest, his teddy bear pinned under her arm. She was curled up into a ball, resting mainly on top of him. He tucked on of his arms under his head so he could look at her better.

Her face was peaceful, not blank like it normally was. A soft smile, hardly noticeable, graced her face. That smile made him smile. She looked so cute, cuddling with the teddy bear. He used his free hand to brush a long strand of purple hair from her face. She stirred slightly and Beast Boy held his breath. She cuddled into him, the strand of hair falling back into her face. He wanted to laugh, but he was afraid that he'd disturb her.

It didn't really matter, though, seeing as she stirred anyway. Her deep violet eyes blinked open. He watched her carefully, not knowing how she was going to react to waking up to him in her bed.

At first is seemed as if she would go back to sleep, her hand clenched the soft fabric of his pajama shirt and her eyes slowly drifted closed. Then she actually woke up with a jump, as if just realizing the fact that someone else was in her bed. Then, she remember the events of last night and relaxed, though she was still awake this time.

"Good Morning!" Beast Boy greeted cheerfully.

"G'Mrnn…" Raven responded, still not fully awake. She rested back down on Beast Boy, her head snuggling into his chest.

Beast Boy's stomach growled.

"Uhm… Rae?"

Raven acknowledged him with a noise.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything… but don't you think we should eat some breakfast?"

Raven made another noise that sounded like 'sure' before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Beast Boy had to stop himself from laughing. She was just so cute! They left the room together and headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Dude, about time y'all woke up." Cyborg declared from the sink where he was washing the dishes from breakfast.

"Well, you shouldn't have let us sleep in!" Beast Boy retorted. Raven merely went over to the cabinet to fix herself a cup of tea.

"I didn't. I knocked on both of ya doors and no one woke up. And believe me, when Cyborg knocks, Cyborg knocks."

Raven leaned back against the counter, waiting for the water to start boiling. Beast Boy busied himself with rummaging around the fridge for some kind of tofu breakfast product. That was when the phone rang. Starfire, who had yet to truly understand this 'phone' went to go answer it, but was quickly blocked by Robin.

"Cyborg, it's for you!"

Raven and Beast Boy were the only ones at the kitchen table. Needless to say, besides the background sound of TV and Cyborg's gushy rambling, it was quiet. Too quiet. Raven stared out the window of the living room from the tale, sipping her tea and sitting sideways in her chair. Beast Boy kept glancing up at her. He wanted to say something, anything. Nothing came to mind.

"Thank you." He whispered across the table. She glanced over at him without moving her head. Then she returned to gazing out the window and sipping her tea. Defeated, Beast Boy began to play with his food.

"Thank you." Raven responded suddenly. So suddenly and so quietly, in fact, that it took Beast Boy several seconds to realize she had said anything. By the time he looked up at her, she was rinsing her cup out in the kitchen sink.

"Great news everybody!" Cyborg suddenly announced, shocking the Hell out of everybody else considering he drew every single one of them out of a thoughtful odd daze. Well, all except for Starfire. She was just so engrossed in the documentary on shrimp and clams that he still stunned her.

"What's this great news?" Robin asked, sitting back down on the couch he had jumped up from.

"We've all been invited to a Prom!"

Starfire jumped up and clapped happily. "Oh! A Prom! I've always wanted to go to an Earth Prom!" Then she turned to Robin, her smile fading into sudden confusion. "What is a 'Prom'?"

Robin sighed, but smiled. She was exhausting sometimes… but still… Robin began the explanation with a smile. Sometimes she was so cute!

Beast Boy transformed to a fly from his kitten for so he could fly down from the ceiling he had clung to in sudden shock. Then he returned to normal, smiling. Prom! That meant every body needed Prom dates! Cyborg had his girl, Robin of course had Starfire, that was a no-brainer…

So that meant Raven had…?

Knock!

Beast Boy only had to tap the door once before Raven opened it. At first he went to translate her speed at annoyance and maybe even anger, but he shrugged it off.

"Hey Raven… I was wondering if…"

"No."

The door began to close, but he put his foot in it's path to stop it.

"You didn't even hear my question!"

"When are your questions ever good?"

Beast Boy frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, foot still in the door.

"Well, you might want to hear this one."

Raven sighed and let her door off of Beast Boy's foot, leaning against the doorframe.

"Fine. Ask away."

When Raven had heard the word 'Prom', she left the living room. She didn't want to get caught up in the hype and sappiness of it all. Of course, she wasn't going to go. Not to something that pointless and expensive. No way.

Once in her room, Raven had to meditate to keep from crying. I mean, sure, she didn't want to go, but no one would've asked her even if she did. Right? It didn't matter. It was pointless. She wasn't going. She couldn't go.

"Will you go to the Prom with me?"

Raven blinked.

"No."

Beast Boy frowned and Raven went to close her door again. This time Beast Boy grabbed the edge of the door and pried it open.

"Hey! You didn't even think about it! That's not fair! C'mon! You could have some fun for once! Please, Rae?"

"I said 'no'."

She didn't want to waste her time on a Prom… right?

"But Rae…"

"No."

"Then who am I going to go with?" Beast Boy whined.

Something in Raven's face shifted, just so slightly. Of course. He only asked her because she was the last female in the Tower. Why else did she think he would ask her? Of course she didn't actually believe he wanted to take her to Prom. Who would _want_ to take her to Prom? She went to close the door again and this time, succeeded.

Beast Boy stood there, staring at her door. How was he going to make her say yes? Why, knock again, of course.

Knock!

"I said NO!"

Knock!

"Go AWAY, Beast Boy!"

Knock!

"I said GO!"

The door never opened. She wasn't giving in, only getting angrier. He frowned in thought. Then it hit him. He knew exactly what to do. With the smile of criminal mastermind in mid plot, Beast Boy crept off to talk with a certain someone…

((To answer a Review, Sade will return. Sade was supposed to return with the message Rorek delivered earlier, but that was with the video game plot that I deleted. The result of this deletion was that Sade took a larger plot absence then she was supposed to. I don't know when she'll come back, but she will.))


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Disclaimer: Sometimes I wonder… Is it just a coincidence that pictures I draw and things I imagine happen on this show? Maybe I do own the Teen Titans… Maybe I'm controlling them with my mind…

Nah.

I had you going there, didn't I? HAHA! You thought I was supernaturally owning the Teen Titans didn't you? WRONG!

I in no way shape or form, legally or supernaturally, own the Teen Titans.

A/N: Boo! Did I scare you? No? Okay, good. Just to let you know, the Prom scene is supposed to be good. If it isn't… then I don't know what the Hell happened and I apologize in advance. Oh and YES this IS a BBxRae Pairing and I WILL get to it. It's just a long story. If I put them together at the very beginning, then the story would end early. So, hang in there everybody. Raven and Beast Boy will get together. Raven will eventually be happy. Eventually. And there will be much more action, drama, and Hell breaking loose. Thank You for the reviews!

Chapter-23-

Somehow, Raven found herself in the mall. Starfire was blabbering on and on at how wonderful Prom would be. Somehow the cheerful alien had convinced her to go dress shopping with her. She had also convinced Raven of something else. A sort of bet. If Starfire could find a dress that Raven liked, then Raven would not only wear it, but also go to the Prom with Beast Boy.

There was nothing Raven liked in this shop, but they hadn't gotten to her yet. Starfire twirled around. Sure she had a dress at home. Starfire had instantly remembered what a Prom was when Robin reminded her of Kitten. Starfire did NOT want to wear that dress again.

When Starfire had heard about a Prom theme and color scheme, she decided to try to match. The color scheme was blue, purple, and green. So, Starfire found a soft pastel green dress. When asked what she thought, Raven almost gagged. Instead, she nodded.

"It matches your eyes, Star. It looks good on you."

Of course, it was the truth. Though the dress was disgusting in Raven's taste, it did match Starfire very well. The skirt seemed to cover a wide radius around her feet instead of being straight. It was made of a sort of stiff shinny material that held it's shape pretty well. The top was beaded, but not with big gaudy beads. It was spaghetti strapped and crossed in the back. It looked good on her, even if it was overly preppy and gross.

"Now we must find you a dress for the Prom!" Starfire exclaimed happily, grabbing her hand. They left the store and Raven breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment, Starfire looked up and down the stores as if confused. What would Raven like? Finally the alien girl had made up her mind, dragging her into one of the smaller stores.

For a while, Starfire went crazy flipping through the dresses. Raven took the moments to look over the store. It seemed like a local business, a small store that was beginning to get more popular. Off the wall original fashions lined the wall.

Finally Starfire emerged from one of the racks with a dress. The material was soft and a bit thick, but not stiff. The color was a deep rich purple with black designs on it like subtle clouds. It was sleeveless, but not spaghetti strapped. Down the front was a soft gold trim that went in at the waist and billowed out from the hips down. Black ribbon crossed from one trimmed side to the other over a design of multi-toned grey fabric.

Raven touched the fabric, running it between her fingers thoughtfully. It wasn't that bad. It was simple, classic, and dark. She shrugged. It might work.

"Try it on, my friend!" Starfire beamed, shoving the dress onto Raven rather forcefully before pushing her to the dressing rooms with alien strength. So, Raven tried it on. Okay, so it fit. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. Such a dress would be wasted on her. It seemed so out of place sitting on her pale grey shoulders. Still, Starfire would want to see…

Raven poked her head out the door and looked around to make sure that no one was there. Then, after assuring that she would not be seen, Raven stepped out. Starfire squealed in delight and Raven flinched.

"Oh, Friend Raven! We MUST get this dress for you! You look so beautiful! And we can get you some gloves and shoes and put up your hair and do you make-up and… Oh PLEASE say you'll go!"

Raven gave one glance over her shoulder to the mirror behind her. She tried to force a smile, but it looked just about as out of place as the dress. With a sigh, Raven gave in uneasily. Why was she saying she'd go? Why would she put herself through this? They bought the dress, but that wasn't the end. Even so, the rest of the trip seemed a blur to Raven. All the while she just kept asking herself why?

* * *

Raven took one of the purple rose clips and used it to pin up a softly curled strand of hair. It was the last one. Her hair was completely up in randomly spread out clips and curls. She looked in the mirror to check her work once more. It wasn't too bad.

Raven traced the outside of her eye with the black eye pencil before rubbing purple eye shadow over her lid. Then she traced the lines of her lips with another pencil and glossed over her lips with a dark color topped with a silver shimmer. She blinked at herself in the mirror and sighed.

There was no way she'd let the other teammates see her like this.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Raven turned to the door, her curls spinning. She frowned. No way. She wasn't going. Why did she ever say yes?

She cracked open the door and peered out.

"I'm not coming out."

She closed the door again quickly.

"Aw, c'mon, Rae! It can't be that bad!" Beast Boy responded through the closed door.

"Yes it is." Raven insisted, not opening the door.

"Well, why don't you let me decide that? C'mon, let me see!"

Raven sighed, her fingers tracing the edge of the door. She didn't want to go. Why did she ever agree to this? What did she possibly have to gain?

She cracked open the door first, then slowly opened it all the way.

"Wow…"

Raven stared at the ground in front of her feet, trying to hide her face as it turned a soft pink.

"Rae, you look wonderful!"

She just wanted to go back into her room.

Instead Beast Boy opened a clear plastic box, pulling out her corsage. A deep purple orchid was accompanied by three purple roses and a dark black ribbon. He slipped the elastic band over Raven's fishnet gloves, hoping not to rip them. She let him, but pulled away as soon as he was done. Her emotions were twisting into physical pain, which couldn't be good.

Gold rings with red stones were placed on some of her fingers. Beast Boy didn't ask, but he wondered. Raven had been waiting for a special day to wear these. Or maybe she had been waiting for a day where she needed added control? Either way, Azar's rings sparkled on her fingers for what seemed to be the first time. Or was it second? She couldn't remember if she had ever worn them or not. Either way, she was wearing them now.

Azar said that the rings contained her essence. Raven thought that someone's essence was a horrible thing to imprison, but Azar didn't seem to mind. Well, at least not when she was about to die. Raven looked down at her hand and played with one of the rings, twisting it on her finger uncomfortably.

Beast Boy smiled, fangs showing, holding out an arm for Raven to take. Raven didn't take it. She didn't even look up to realize it was there. Instead she just walked down the hallway, looking up eventually, but all the while playing with Azar's rings.

* * *

Raven leaned her head against the cold window, her eyes reflecting the bright lights that lined the pitch black streets. Beast Boy sighed, fidgeting. It was quiet, except for Starfire's cheerful proclamations of the joy that awaited at the Prom. They were almost to the restaurant. They were going to go eat Italian because Beast Boy refused to go to the steak place that Cyborg had wanted.

Raven hadn't spoken all night and it was beginning to bug Beast Boy. He went through all the trouble of convincing Starfire to convince Raven to go with him ((which was a simple matter of mentioning that Raven refused to go… Starfire just wouldn't allow it!)) AND the trouble of finding a green suit to match his hair, skin, eyes…

And she wouldn't even talk to him!

He began to fidget uneasily. If the entire night was going to be this uneasy… well… he didn't know what he'd do.

Raven sighed, watching her reflection in the window as it was fogged by her breath. When the fog faded away she looked over herself again. The careful curls, the shimmering make-up… she felt so false. None of this was real, none of it. It didn't even feel like Beast Boy's invitation was real. After all, she was the only other girl in the Tower. She shifted uncomfortably and tried to avoid the fault, but it kept arising every time she looked at the green changeling. She felt like Tofu Leftovers in comparison to Starfire and Robin. They were so happy together, cheerfully giggling and smiling. Happy. She closed her eyes. Happy wasn't something she could feel. Being happy was dangerous.

But hey, no reason to feel bad about it, right?

She shifted and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

It was then that the car stopped suddenly. They had safely made it to the Italian Restaurant. The night had only just begun.

* * *

Raven twirled her pasta onto her fork and kept twirling, her head leaning into her other hand.

"Uhm… Rae?"

Raven looked up, still spinning the pasta. "Hmm?"

"You've been spinning the same bite of pasta onto your fork for the past five minutes." Beast Boy pointed out. Normally the Titans would have all sat together, but due to popular demand, everyone got a private table with their date. Raven and Beast Boy's table had been quiet.

"Oh." Raven said simply, setting down her fork instead of eating the bite.

"Are you going to eat?" Beast Boy offered and Raven shook her head, sighed, and then nodded. Beast Boy gave her an odd look, even though she wasn't looking at him to see it.

"Are you okay, Rae? You've been so quiet all night. I mean, you're always kind of quiet, but not THIS quiet. I mean, you normally at least make fun of me… and you haven't even done THAT tonight! And after everything that's happened… Well… I just want to make sure you're all right. So… Are you okay?"

Raven leaned back in her chair and faced him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine."

Beast Boy shook his head. "You'll BE fine? That doesn't mean you're fine NOW. You're supposed to be fine NOW. I didn't go through all the trouble of getting Starfire to get you to come just so you could sulk all night! You're supposed to have FUN!"

"Wait… you're the one who convinced Starfire to go Prom crazy on me? I thought she did that on her own."

Beast Boy shrugged. "Well, she sort of did… I just told her that you wouldn't go. But STILL… I wanted you to have a fun night, so cheer up, okay?"

Beast Boy ate a bite of his pasta. Raven blinked. So… he asked her out because he wanted her to have fun? Not because she was the last girl in the Tower? She took a bite of her own pasta. Maybe she could… try… to enjoy the evening. After all, she did deserve it. After all she had to put up with…

"Beast Boy." She said, causing him to look up at her, even though she was staring down at her plate. "How many times are you going to do this?"

"Do what?" Beast Boy asked, confused.

"Make me say thank you."

Beast Boy smiled. "However many times it takes."

Raven almost smiled. Almost. Her heart leaped, or at least she thought it did. Was she falling for…? No. No way. She wouldn't let herself fall in love. Not again. Every time she… Everyone she…

Raven took another bite of her pasta. No. She wasn't in love. She was just… happy. She couldn't be in love.

But what if she was?

((Blargh! Haven't gotten to the actual prom yet, but this turned out longer than I thought and this is a good stopping point so… Blargh. Wee.))


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Disclaimer- Yawn You're a loon. You think I own the Teen Titans? Yeah, riiiight.

A/N- God, it's summer, and I've had LESS time on the computer! Whine! Oh well, now that my grandparents are gone, I should have more time. Should. Shrugs

Chapter 24-

Starfire screamed in excitement as she looked up at the school. Raven frowned up at it. It looked like the doorway to one of the night clubs they went to, only worse. Streamers and balloons? Confetti and flowers? Raven shivered. Yuck.

Cyborg and his girlfriend looped arms, entering the odd lighting of the school's gymnasium. Starfire and Robin followed, also looping arms. Beast offered his arm, but Raven didn't loop hers into his. Beast Boy coughed, trying to attract her attention. She didn't pay attention. There was a bad look on Raven's face. She was having second thoughts! Quickly Beast Boy grabbed her hand, hoping that as soon as she got in she'd feel it was too late and stick through the entire night. She couldn't back out now!

Raven's heart jumped. Too many thoughts and feelings ran through her head. She KNEW she loved him… she had figured that out before… but she COULDN'T love him! She just… couldn't. She snatched her hand back roughly, looking at Beast Boy for the first time in a while.

"This was a bad idea."

Beast Boy's mouth fell open as Raven turned and began to walk back towards the car. He finally snapped out of it in time to chase her down, catching up to her quickly.

"Hey! You don't know that yet! You haven't even been inside! I told you that you were going to have fun tonight and you'll have fun no matter how hard I have to try to force you to!"

Raven stopped as he stepped in front of her.

"So just turn around and march yourself right back into that high school!"

Raven gave him a look something similar to 'You dare command me?', but turned and began to walk back nonetheless.

Honestly, she wanted to go.

She was just afraid…

Raven sat down at the table. She was the only one who sat down at the table. The others were dancing, joy. Well, everyone but Beast Boy.

Beast Boy had simply said that he would be right back and left. Raven sat impatiently, taking in her horrid surroundings. Blue, green, and purple balloons and streamers hung from every inch of the ceiling and lights flashed the same colors all over.

Of course, those weren't the only colors. Oh, no. There was the horrid colors of the Prom dresses to look at, too! One girl seemed to glow in the dark with her tangerine orange dress and another looked like some funny piñata. In order not to be cruel to the poor color blind people, she stared at the center piece.

That wasn't much better. It was supposed to be a cloud with stars and a candle. This meant that it was a glass candle surrounded by cotton balls with spots of silver glitter glue. Uhm… yeah…

She impatiently pocked a piece of cotton, rolling it out into a string. Then she burned her string of 'cloud' by the small flame in the center. She watched the cotton curl as it burned.

Ah the things we do when we're bored.

Beast Boy came back with two plates. Raven gave him an annoyed look. "Didn't we just eat?"

Beast Boy smiled. "Not dessert!"

He set down two slices of strawberry cheesecake. He sat down to eat his own. Raven gave the sugary substance a look, then lifted her fork. Okay, so she liked strawberries, was that a crime?

It didn't take long for either of them to finish, although Beast Boy did finish way before Raven. More specifically, he finished in 30 seconds. Not surprising and also not a record, but still.

After dessert, Beast Boy got bored with sitting. As soon as Raven was finished, he jumped up.

"Okay, now, let's dance."

Raven gave him a 'hell no' look.

"I don't dance."

Beast Boy crossed his arms. "Liar! I know for a fact that you CAN dance. Not only that, but you can dance GOOD!"

"Well." Raven corrected.

"What?" Beast Boy, thoroughly confused.

"I can dance WELL, not I can dance GOOD."

"Exactly!" Beast Boy proclaimed.

"No." Raven said. "I don't think you get it. I was correcting your grammar, not agreeing with you."

Beast Boy blinked, then shrugged. "That doesn't change the fact that you CAN dance."

"I never said I couldn't dance. I said I DON'T dance. It's a different thing entirely."

Getting impatient quickly, Beast Boy grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"He-Hey!" Raven objected, trying to pull away. Beast Boy managed to hold on to her long enough to drag her a few feet. She didn't manage to pull away until they were actually on the dance floor. When Raven went to leave the dance floor, Beast Boy grabbed her hand and spun her to face him before lacing his fingers through hers. Raven realized with a gulp that it was a slow song. Beast Boy reached far enough to wrap his other arm around her waist, keeping her on the dance floor. She tried to pull away from him, but he just held her tighter, pressing her body up against his.

Raven panicked. "Too close." She whispered, struggling to get free.

Too close! Her mind screamed at her as her heart jumped. She tried not to feel the warmth that radiated from his skin. She tried not to feel his arm around her waist.

A nearby balloon arch began to pop from the bottom up, one balloon at a time in a fast rush like a fuse to a bomb. Raven used Beast Boy's surprise to pull away, racing out the school door as soon as she was free.

Beast Boy found himself facing every Titans but Raven.

"Where's Raven?" Robin asked. Beast Boy shook his head and Robin sighed, wrapping his arm around Starfire's waist and going back to the dance floor. Best not to worry about it. At least she wasn't near the crowds of people anymore. Everyone seemed stunned, but no one was hurt, so he would just let it slid for now. Of course, Starfire was a helpful distraction.

Beast Boy frowned and looked at the remains of the balloon arch. He only wanted to dance…

Raven sat on the roof to the school, knees to her chest.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She could hear the music still playing, stunned people returning to noisy dancing.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She could feel Beast Boy lacing his fingers through hers.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She could feel his arm circling her waist.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears…

No, not her heartbeat. His heartbeat. She could hear him breathe and sigh and feel him sit back at the table with another slice of cheesecake.

Oh, but the heartbeat…

Suddenly she was calmer, so she listened, just listened.

Then there came a voice, a soft voice, from the back of her mind. This voice told her what to do with his heartbeat. It talked about how good it would feel with the blood rushing over her…

Raven gasped back into her body, her eyes shooting open.

The only heartbeat now was her own. She hugged her knees tighter, afraid to close her eyes again.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She meditated with her eyes open, gazing at the stars just above the horizon. She felt Beast Boy's presence as he left the school. She came out of the trance and looked down, spotting his greenness easily amongst the scattered students that were leaving, entering, or had their heads in the bushes. His head was down in disappointment. She took a deep breath and let it out.

It hurt her to know that she had hurt him. Suddenly she had wished that she had just danced. She cursed her powers, but most of all she cursed her fear. She stood. It wasn't too late to dance. He hadn't fully left yet. She still had a chance…

Beast Boy jumped as a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up and, upon seeing it was Raven, tried to smile.

"Look, Beast Boy… I'm sorry I…"

"Ditched me? Ah, it's okay. I was pushing you, I should've known better."

"After all you've pushed me into with bad results? Yeah, you should've known. But, Hell, you never do. That's one thing that makes you Beast Boy." She dropped her hand from his shoulder and offered him a little half-smile. It was a pretty pathetic smile, but coming from Raven it was important. "I'll tell you what. I'll forgive you for pushing me if you'll forgive me for… ditching… you."

He smiled up at her and nodded. "Consider it done!"

For a moment they stood there and the moment went from sweet to awkward. Raven chose to speak up first.

"So… Is it too late for that dance?"

Beast Boy beamed.

Raven stepped forward and laced her fingers through his, wrapping her other arm around his waist. Shocked, it took Beast Boy a moment to respond. When he did, he wrapped his arm around her waist gently. She rested her head on his shoulder.

Raven tried to breathe. She just kept telling herself to breathe. It was just one dance, just one. She was doing this for him, so he wouldn't be sad. She had to dance the entire song. She had to hold on through it. She had to breathe.

At first she felt the heat, the warmth that came from being in his arms. Try as she might to stop it, she sunk into the warmth. She was sinking! She had to stop! She tried to suppress the panic, but it kept rising into her again. She took a deep breath.

"Beast Boy, can I ask a favor?" She asked, her head still on his shoulder. Talking pulled herself into her body, it helped her anchor herself so she wouldn't sink. It helped her realize that she couldn't fall.

"Sure." Beast Boy said, a little cautious and a little curious. Did he want to know what she wanted?

"Promise me that… Promise me that we'll always be friends. Just friends. Promise me that it will never be more than that."

Beast Boy stopped dancing and Raven pulled away.

"Please, Beast Boy? It's… Well… I'm scared. I fell like you want this to be something it's not and something it never will be. I don't want to get hurt and I don't want you to get hurt so just promise me, okay?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "Rae… Ask something else of me, anything else. Just, not this."

Raven shook her head. "No, you don't understand. I need you to promise this,"

"Oh, I understand, Rae, but you can't let fear run your life like this."

Raven shook her head, backing away from him.

"Look, Rae, I'm not just going to go away. I'm going to be here for you, always. I can't promise that I won't."

"Well, if you won't go away, then I will." Raven said, fading into the shadows before the words had time to sink in.

Beast Boy stood alone, in the dark, staring at the spot where Raven had been.

This was most definitely NOT turning out the way he planned.

((La la la. Okies. Done with that. Now, I've had several requests and questions of a similar nature. Where can I get Raven's Prom dress? Well, the answer is, you can't. Not yet at least. You see, I'm going into fashion design. That is one of my more basic designs. It's rather very simple in comparison to some of my other things. One day, I will make it for all you wonderful people who give such kind remarks. Let us all rejoice. Yay. Okay. Rubs eyes It's 1:00 am right now. I'll be up until 3ish… so I'll start the next chapter now. Goodnight for now!))


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Disclaimer- God, I'm too tired to be thinking up a new one of these. Look, you know I don' own the Titans, okay? So stop suing me already!

A/N: Uhrm… I'm tired. Oh, but I just realized that I didn't edit my last chapter! Oh, I hope the scene changes weren't difficult without the break lines! What is up with this new Urk! Oh, and I just got an E-mail saying that the next chapter of my story was up… Uh… I KNOW IT'S UP! I put it there! Oo. Someone just asked me if I'd write a lemon. Ya know… I've been thinking about it… But I think I'll chicken out. I mean… I've never written a lemon before. Sure, I've read a lot of them, but never authored one. What do you think? Should I write a lemon chapter?

-Chapter-Twenty Five-

Raven awoke with a scream that shattered street lamps three blocks down in both directions. She had fought it, she truly had. Still, she had been too late. Still she felt the blood that had not yet dried seeping through her clothes, through her skin. This time she had awoken sooner than others. This time it wasn't over yet, but it was still too late. The girl gasped and cried as the shrunk back into the alleyway, trying to get away although she was already as good as dead. Raven heard her heartbeat, heard it fade into silence. She cried for the girl and cried for herself.

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The blood on her hands was half dried when she made it back to the Tower. It made an awful sticky noise as she knocked on Beast Boy's door, frantic. She was having a hard time breathing, gasping in short breaths. The door slid open to expose a very drowsy looking Beast Boy. How late was it, anyway? Had it really been that long since she left the Prom?

"Oh my God, Rae…"

She hit the ground, unable to stand any longer. She was having a hard enough time breathing. He fell down to her level, holding her to him lightly.

"You said… you said you'd always be here for me, right?"

He nodded and drew her into his lap, holding her.

"Always."

Raven buried her head into his shoulder, trying to hold back tears. Beast Boy began to rock her back and forth, running his hand over her hair, even though it was streaked with drying blood.

"I'll get kicked off the team…"

"Don't worry about it. Just calm down. We'll get you cleaned up and then we'll take this one step at a time, okay?"

For a moment, everything was silent except for the sob-like gasps of air Raven was sucking in. Beast Boy broke the silence first.

"Don't make me tell a joke."

The air got lighter with the change in attitude. Raven pulled away and looked at him with a look that clearly said "You can't be serious!". Beast Boy smiled.

"Oh yeah, I'll do it."

Raven began to breathe normally without actually realizing it. It was like the entire serious panic of the situation had just faded with the light hearted smile of Beast Boy. It was a bit confusing and disorienting, like being really cold and just hopping into a warm shower.

"Ha! I got you to calm down!" Beast Boy said triumphantly, helping her to stand.

"Sure did…" Raven said, confused and amazed.

How the Hell did that happen?

"So, maybe we should clean all of this up." Beast Boy suggested, looking down at the blood on his outfit as well as the blood on Raven. There was also blood on his door from where she had knocked. Raven nodded, taking a deep breath.

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Beast Boy soaked the uniforms in the sink one by one, starting with Raven's and progressing onto his. When he was finished rinsing the blood out, he hung them on the towel rack.

Raven stood in the shower, watching the red water turn pink before finally running clean down the drain. She had to wash her hair three times to get the blood out and she made sure to scrub every trace out from under her fingernails. She wondered how long she had until the police called the Titans to investigate. After that call, she was sure that Robin would kick her out. What good is a hero that kills the ones she saves? They had tried to help her this long. They even kept her as a Titans when she unleashed Hell to Earth. Would they keep her still when they found out that it was starting all over again?

Thinking was getting dangerous. If she thought about it too much, she'd get upset again. She took a deep breath of the steam that was rising. It smelt of the remnants of lavender shower gel. One step at a time. She had to take it one step at a time.

The next step was getting out of the shower.

"Beast Boy, can you hand me a towel?" She asked, turning off the water.

"Yeah, one moment."

Beast Boy shuffled through the towels that he had tossed onto the toilet to make room for the uniforms. He picked up the blue one and went over to the very edge of the shower curtain, closing his eyes tightly before shoving the towel past it. Raven took the towel with a muffled 'thanks'.

Raven pulled open the curtain after drying off and firmly wrapping the towel over her body. She stepped out onto the plush shower rug. It didn't take her that long to realize that Beast Boy was shirtless, since his shirt was rinsed and hanging to dry. That also meant that she had to walk all the way to her room to get a new uniform. She turned away from him, trying to hide the blush. Then again, Beast Boy was also blushing, which made him look like a Christmas Tree.

"I'm… going to go get a uniform…" Raven said quickly, heading for the door.

"Hey, Rae…" Beast Boy said, making her stop. She turned to him, but avoided looking at his chest. "Don't worry. We'll get Trigon good this time."

Raven shook her head. God, this wasn't a good time to be talking about this.

"It took sacrifice before, just to imprison him. What makes you think the Titans can do it and survive?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I just know it. This isn't the end of the World and it isn't the end of the Titans. It can't be."

Raven turned back to the door.

"I sure hope you're right, Beast Boy."

That was when the alarm went off. Frantic, both of the uniform-less Titans jumped for their drying uniforms. Once Beast Boy had his, Raven pushed him out the door, slamming it behind him. She threw on her outfit as quickly as she could, cringing at how cold and wet it was.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

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The chief of police looked at the Titans with a very grim face. Raven shivered. She knew what he was calling about. Not only that, but her costume was still freezing!

"I thought you said you had taken care of that thing."

Robin looked at the screen. "What thing?"

"Have I contacted you about anything else?"

Robin frowned. "Oh. That thing." It took all his will not to look at Raven.

Raven shrank back away from the group, just slightly.

"We did take care of it. Why?" Robin said.

"Because whatever it was… is… it's back. We just found this girl dead, mutilated in much the same way as the ones before. Only, this one still has her heart. It seems that she died while dragging herself away from her attacker. I'm sending the information now. I trust that you'll take care of it." The police chief said the last sentence more like a threat than an assurance. His image faded out without a goodbye and the pictures and information began to display itself across the screen.

Raven collapsed on the couch, bracing herself for impact. Beast Boy looked back, seeing the sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath and tried to look away. He ended up looking at the ground. He just couldn't lift his eyes to the screen. No one could. Everyone was looking down, pretending like they were watching. Everyone was silent.

Then Robin couldn't take it anymore, he spun around to face Raven.

"What is wrong with you? Last time it was Trigon, right? Well, he's gone! What's your excuse now?"

Raven didn't look up at him, just stared at her hands as they rested neatly on her knees.

"What do we have to do to get this to stop? Do you even realize what this means? Do you realize what this makes you? You're a murder, Raven! A murderer! The cops think you're a monster!"

Beast Boy went over to Raven, sitting beside her and wrapping his arms over her shoulder. Starfire put a hand on Robin's shoulder.

"Please, friend Robin, do not yell any longer at friend Raven. I'm sure that she did not mean to-"

"I'm sick of the didn't-mean-to's! Just because she didn't mean to, doesn't mean that it didn't happen! The point is that there's an innocent girl DEAD and Raven's the one who killed her!"

They wanted to tell him that he was overreacting, but they couldn't. They couldn't because he wasn't overreacting. Was Raven out of control this time? Had they shown too much forgiveness before?

The room was silent, Beast Boy tried to pull Raven to him to comfort her, but it was kind of hard trying to comfort someone that didn't seem to need comforting. Raven was just sitting there, her blank and distant eyes staring at her pale hands as they rested lightly on her bare knees. She said nothing, did nothing. It was almost as if she wasn't really there at all. When Beast Boy tried to hold her, she just fell over into his lap. That was when they all realized that Raven wasn't even awake, though her eyes were open. Cyborg ran a scan.

"She's forced herself into unconsciousness."

Robin nodded. "Good. Take her to the room we had her in before. We have to keep her here until we decide what to do with her."

"Please, Robin, do not send friend Raven to the jail of bad guys." Starfire said, teary eyed. Robin had to look away.

"We have to do what we can to save the people of Jump City. If that means that we have to lock Raven up, then that's what we must do."

Beast Boy dragged Raven's eyelids over her eyes so that they were closed. It was just creepy seeing her eyes so blank. He just couldn't take it anymore.

"Trigon didn't die. She told me. She told me that he was back, that she could feel him in her again."

Robin turned and seemed to notice Beast Boy for the first time.

"When did she tell you this?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know. The night before the day we found out about Prom. That morning that we slept in."

Everyone was silent as they put 1 and 1 together.

"So… you and Raven both slept late because you were up all night talking?"

"Something like that." He didn't want to tell them about her attempt at suicide. That was between Raven and himself. He was telling them too much already, but he was trying to defend her spot as a Titan. Hell, he was trying to defend her case so she wouldn't get sent to jail! "Please… After tonight… she came to me. Crying. She was crying! Robin, she was so afraid of what you'd say. She was so afraid that she'd never be a Titan again. She didn't WANT to do this. Raven isn't a murderer, Trigon is. He's coming back, and we need to take this time to prepare for a round two, not fight over whether or not Raven gets sent to jail."

For a while everyone was silent. The other Titans turned to Robin, waiting for his judgment.

"Fine, but for right now, she goes into the room."

((ARGH! It's past 2 am, but I HAD to finish this chapter for all of you adoring fans on whom I depend so much. So, review okay? And when you do, vote. Should I write a lemon chapter? Yes or No? I need at least 10 Yes votes before I will and that's only if the Yes votes overpower the No votes, okay? VOTE!))


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

Disclaimer: Shut up! I have already told a millions times, NO! I don't own the Teen Titans! Leave me alone! The voices! The voices!

God it's hard to come up with creative disclaimers after 25 chapters… Oo

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I got a shocking amount of votes in such a limited time! Right now the results are as follows:

No: 4

Yes: 12

Sort of Yes… ((A.K.A- Maybe something some-what lemon or do it if you feel like it)) 4 I don't really know which way to count those.

Keep the votes coming, you still have a while until we reach the chapter. I'll tell you when voting ends.

You see, I did have a lemon chapter involved in here before. I started working on it… and got all the way to a certain point… then whimped out and did a scene cut. I ended up stopping the scene way back, so it was only suggestive. I could still find what I wrote on it and continue it, so it doesn't hurt the storyline at all for those who were worried about that. Anyway, on to the story!

-Chapter 26-

Raven woke up slowly, her eyes adjusting slowly to the white lights of the room. She sat up slowly, holding her head in one hand, and glanced around the room. Blood still stained the wall that Rorek died against. She closed her eyes and turned away.

Sluggishly, something moved beside her. She opened her eyes, looking down none other than Beast Boy, who was still asleep beside her. This brought up some questions immediately. How is it that they felt she needed to be locked up, yet they let Beast Boy sleep in the same room? Confused, Raven decided simply to wake him up and ask.

It wasn't very hard to wake him up. As it turns out, he was already half-way awake. He sat up, looking just as confused as she was, rubbed his head, and looked around.

"Good Morning… or at least I think it's morning." He greeted to Raven. "So… Why am I in here?"

Raven crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. "I was hoping you could tell me."

It took Beast Boy a moment before he woke up enough to remember. Then he hit his head in realization. After that, he rubbed his head in pain.

"I remember! I came in to check on you after everyone went to sleep, but you were still unconscious so I went to go see if you'd wake up now… but the door shut and I kind of locked myself in here."

"So… that must mean it's still before breakfast." Raven said, standing up.

"What makes you say that?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, they would've noticed that you were gone during the process of making breakfast. No argument over the bacon and eggs."

Beast Boy nodded, then frowned.

"Hey! No fair! That hunk of metal gets to choose breakfast today!" He jumped up. "I need to get out and stop him!"

Raven shook her head. Just when you begin to think that he could actually be an intelligent, observant, and caring human being…

He goes and pulls a stunt like this.

She sat back down on the bed, watching him at the door of the room. Her eyes lingered there for a moment before they began to drift. They drifted over to the wall, over the blood stain…

Raven tore her eyes away and buried her face into the pillow. The pillow exploded, sending feathers everywhere and turning Beast Boy's attentions from the door.

"You okay?" Beast Boy asked, walking over and sitting on the bed beside her. Raven shook her head into the pillow.

"I need to get out of here." She said into the busted pillowcase.

Beast Boy looked around the room, his eyes landing on the stain. He cringed.

"Oh… yeah. I forgot about that."

Raven nodded into the pillow. He rubbed his hand up and down her back in a comforting gesture.

"Don't worry… I promise that it'll be okay soon, all right?"

Raven flinched when he touched her. He didn't seem to notice. She didn't want to feel like she was falling, especially not with a grim reminder of the last time looming over her. She didn't want that to happen to Beast Boy.

That was when the Tower shook. Beast Boy hit the ground and Raven ended up on top of him, pillows, covers, sheets, and all. The lights flickered out and all electric hum stopped immediately.

After a moment of stunned silence, Raven defensively declared:

"Okay, I did NOT do that."

She got off of Beast Boy quickly, leaving him to stand on his own. The door to the room had sort of shattered open. Glass was scattered down the hallways. It sparkled with the early morning light. The generator didn't kick in.

"That was a Hell of an earthquake." Beast Boy said, rubbing his head.

"Hell might be the key word in that sentence." Raven muttered, stepping over the remains of the door carefully and peering out of what used to be a window. "Come look at this."

Beast Boy followed her, hitting his toe against a piece of wood. He cried out in pain and jumped out the door, holding his foot. He was easily distracted by the sight out of the window.

Jump city was divided by a large gap in the ground like the Earth had just decided to split in two.

"I swear I did not do this. You were there. You saw me. I did not do this."

Beast Boy just nodded.

The other Titans ran down the hall, having just been very rudely awakened.

Beast Boy and Raven began to talk all at once.

"I didn't do it!"

"She didn't do it!"

Robin looked out the window and looked back at the Titans.

"Well… What are you waiting for? Titans, move!"

Raven just assumed that that meant her, too.

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"So good for you to show up." Sade said, smiling as the Titans arrived. She didn't bother to mask her appearance. In her hands was an old piece of parchment. Raven frowned.

The other Titans hadn't seen her before. As far as the whole Sade incident… Slade was there… and then he wasn't. So, needless to say, they were confused.

"I got tired of waiting for you to resurrect him, so I did it for you. A simple resurrection spell, nothing serious, really. It's so simple, I bet even you could do it."

She tossed the parchment down to Raven's feet and she left it there, still frowning.

"Look, Sade. I'm not in the mood."

Sade smiled. "Like I care. You see, this isn't about you. I resurrected Daddy. So, now Daddy has to notice me."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're just a bratty little child. Besides, I have the spell at MY feet. Who will he notice?"

Sade's face turned red in frustration. "Daddy wants an heir. Did you know that, Sister?"

Beast Boy's face twisted in confusion. "Wait. Sister?"

"I WANT to be an heir. You don't. You have to become heir on your own free will. It's a part of the ritual."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "So Hell has rules?"

Sade rolled her eyes. "What does he see in you? You're pathetic!"

The crack in the Earth hissed and spewed steam and flames. Raven sighed. Crack to Hell, yippee. She got the point without the dramatics.

"So. He wants an heir, huh? What is he, on death row. Sick of power? Somehow, neither explanation sounds right."

Sade shrugged.

The crack hissed again and Raven just wanted to tell it to shut up. Then she reminded herself that cracks to Hell didn't have ears. The things INSIDE cracks to Hell had ears. And teeth and claws. She closed her eyes, running things through her head while something stirred in the crack.

Okay. He wanted and heir. So if he had an heir, would he leave? She opened her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

Trigon's claw surfaced from the crack, scraping the ground. The Titans struck a battle pose. It seemed to take forever as Trigon lifted himself from the crevice. Sade and Raven backed away from each other, and Raven sunk back into the Titans. She didn't strike a battle pose. She wasn't planning on fighting. She was just trying to come to terms with what she had to do.

Trigon towered above them all once more. He let out one of those laughs that made your skin crawl and try to hide. Raven bent over and picked up the parchment that Sade had dropped. Now was the time for some quick lying, sucking up, and deal making.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and stepped forward.

"Trigon. Father. I have heard a little… bit of information that I found quite… interesting."

The demon smiled down at her with a glare that could chill the heart of a volcano.

"I knew it would only be a matter of time before you were strong enough to break free on your own, so I went ahead and resurrected you while you were weak. Last time you were stronger and even then we beat you. Not to mention, we have the Justice League on speed dial. There is no way that you can win in this situation, so just listen, because I have a deal to make with you."

The Titans watched carefully, wondering. Did they really have him cornered? It seemed like a big bluff to be making.

"You want an heir, we don't want a fight."

Trigon's face… as horrible and odd as it seemed, suddenly looked interested. "Get to the point, daughter. I am getting impatient."

Raven smirked. "It's simple really. If you leave Earth, then I'll leave it with you and become your heir in Hell."

Stunned, the Titans stared on silently, waiting for the information to sink in.

Trigon smiled. "If I am so cornered, why make a deal? If you can win easily, then why bargain with the devil?"

Raven gave a kind of carefree shrug. "It would make it easier on us all. Besides…" She flashed an evil smirk, eyes gleaming. "Heir means that I will soon be Queen of Hell itself. Who wouldn't want that kind of power?"

Inside she was shaking. Okay, Raven. So far so good. Don't slip now. You almost have him. God, maybe you should pursue a career in acting if being Queen doesn't work out.

Trigon smiled and let out a hissing laughing that seemed to echo and shake at the same time.

"So, you are my daughter after all. You are also a good liar."

Don't give yourself away now. He could be bluffing. Maybe he doesn't really know that you're lying. Maybe he's testing. Keep your cool.

"If you think I'm bluffing, fine, call me on it. See how quickly we can take you down again. If we are bluffing, and we cannot possibly win, then I will kill myself when you attack. You will have Earth, but no heir. Either way, you loose. Taking my deal is the only reasonable option for you."

Raven dropped the resurrection spell to the ground, keeping her cool and staring straight at her demon father. Each breath she drew felt shaky and she only hoped that he didn't notice.

Coming to their senses, the Titans began to move forward to speak with Raven.

"Don't do this, Rae. You can't leave!"

"Yes, friend Raven, you must stay with us!"

Raven ignored them, staring only at her father. The evil smile faded from his face and became a more studying face.

"Fine. I will leave Earth and you will be my heir."

Raven let out a sigh of relief. "Done."

Beast Boy grabbed her shoulders, turned her to face him.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving the Earth."

"You can't leave us!"

Raven's hand cracked across Beast Boy's cheek and he flinched. His hand reached up to touch the burning mark she left there.

"Quit being so selfish! This way, no one dies!"

She pulled his hand down from his cheek, touching it lightly with her own fingers before firmly grabbing his chin to hold his face still. Raven closed the space between them, bringing her lips down upon Beast Boy's in a sudden quick movement that left him stunned and confused. He didn't realize that she had kissed him until she was walking away.

"H-hey! That's not fair! Do you know how long I've been waiting for that moment! Get back here so we can kiss right!"

Trigon sank back down into the crack. Without even a glance back, Raven sank into it behind him.

"I… I love you! RAVEN! I LOVE YOU!"

Beast Boy's protests faded into the wind as it picked up, blowing the horrid smell of Hell's fire across the rubble. Dust swirled around Beast Boy's feet. Tears joined the dust clouds, passing through them with ease to stain the Earth beneath.

"Raven… Don't go…"

It didn't matter, she was gone. That was it. Sade had long since vanished, leaving no one but the Titans to stare in shock at the place where Raven had been. The crack groaned to life, pulling itself together. Beast Boy cried out in realization, diving for the crevice in desperation. He had to follow her! He had to bring her back!

The Earth closed itself back up with one final shake that had the Titans struggling to stay standing. Beast Boy cried. First Terra, and now Raven, both lost to whatever lay beneath the Earth's crust, whether it be lava or Hell. Robin rested a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.

"Come on, let's just go home."

Beast Boy nodded. He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, but they just kept coming. Slowly he stood. Still in a state of shock, they all slowly walked home.

((Well? God. Do you know how hard it was to write this? You know how I'm still not happy with how this chapter turned out? God. What do you think. Was this chapter okay, or did it suck? I vote it sucked. What about you? Your opinion matters! So review!))


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

Disclaimer: Hey, I'm a fan. Take this fic as a compliment. As you know, I haven't claimed a thing. It isn't mine. Just say 'thank you for loving my TV show' and be happy. Suing is bad. Pick peace, man. Peace.

A/N: God! Once again… do you guys not trust me? I leave a cliff hanger for ya and suddenly everyone has a heart attack! I'll tell you this right now, to settle your weak little hearts. When this fic ends, everyone will be alive and happy. Then again, you knew that. Right? Good. So why panic? Okay, who am I kidding? I love it when you panic!

-Chapter 27-

Raven walked down the stone hallways, the torches flickering warmly. Her father stormed in front of her, a giant wall of scaly flesh and muscle. He was still talking about the rituals of Hell. She was only half-way listening. Somehow, she figured that to be a mistake later, but she was still trying to believe that this was going to be her new home.

It wasn't exactly Earth.

"The first ritual is more of a test. You must prove worthy. All you must do is survive with a flawless display of strength and self-control."

Self-control. Right. She had worked all her life to get self-control… but was it enough? She sure hoped so.

The rest of the walk seemed to take forever. The longer they walked, the more detail she began to notice. The stone walls had streaks of blood stained into the texture of the stones. Their footsteps echoed loudly down the halls. Other faint noises echoed as well, but she was scared to think about what they were.

Then they stopped at a room, suddenly.

Without being told, she entered it.

The room was relatively small and bare minus all the seamstress equipment. Fabrics of all shapes and colors draped across tables, unused. Raven sighed and looked down at her superhero outfit. Or course, she was no longer a Teen Titan. So, why should she have to wear the same old hero outfit? She was a Princess. She groaned. She didn't know if should bear being fitting for all those layers of itchy dresses…

The door shut behind her and she sighed. Bring it on. The maids were all human in basic shape. Some had flairs of demonic traits that displayed their part blooded-ness. Raven turned her eyes towards the ceiling in frustration as they began to take measurements. This was going to be a loooong night.

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Beast Boy returned to the spot the next day. He picked up the piece of parchment that had been left there. He touched the closed area where the large crevice once was. It was so hard to believe that she was gone. It all had happened so fast. One minute it as the end of the World… again… and the next…

He sighed. He needed some hot chocolate.

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Raven left the room in a simple and very comfortable satin dress. It was sleeveless, v necked. And reached her ankles. It was only temporary. They would have her ritual dress done by tomorrow. This speed would be amazing, until you considered several variables. A) They were part demons. B) They didn't sleep. C) There was a lot of them.

Raven was NOT looking forward to it.

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Beast Boy worked on his 5th cup of hot cocoa, reading over the bit of parchment one more time. It was written weird, but it was still in human letters. Thy just didn't form words he recognized. He sighed and folded it back up, finishing off the cup. Maybe she could come back and visit? Could Princesses of Hell take summer vacation? He sighed and fixed himself another cup.

"How many cups is this?" Cyborg asked, hands on his hips in a ready-to-scold position.

"6th." Beast Boy responded, simply.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you? You can't drown your sorrows in hot cocoa. It's pathetic."

"How many milkshakes did you drink when you lost your car?" Beast Boy asked, sipping on the new cup.

Cyborg frowned, then smiled. "Okay. You got me." he sat beside Beast Boy and slung a thick metal arm over his shoulder.

"Come on BB. Let's talk."

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Raven was woken up early the next day. Too early. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed. Then she was forced through a quick breakfast and hair and make-up. She couldn't get through the morning with out fussing at the maids. Hair, nails, make-up! WHO CARES? She was going out in front of hundreds of horrible demons. Did they really care how long her eyelashes looked? I thought they were going for strong, not super model!

Even worse then all of that was when she saw the dress.

"THORNS? Who the HELL came up with the BRIGHT IDEA to sew THORNS into the dress?"

Talk about uncomfortable. The maids looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "The ritual. You show your strength through a display of physical endurance. Right? You must wear this dress for the entire ritual without so much as flinching."

Raven looked at the thing, frowning. It was a purple and black corseted dress. A ring of visible black throne vines trimmed the hem of the ankle-long skirt. Black roses dotted the skirt, grouping up in a pile at the bottom. She touched one carefully only to find that they were REAL roses. It was a beautiful dress. Well, if it wasn't lined with thorns it would be better. She sighed and shook her head.

What she did to save her friends.

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All the demons of Hell looked upon her. She stared past them, trying to look through them. She could feel her blood running down her body. It was increasingly difficult to keep a straight face. She forced the tears back before they came. The pain building inside her seemed to push against her skin. Her father was speaking. Lengthy words in his own language poured harshly from his lips and echoed off of the blood colored stone walls.

Miserable humans in the audience shrieked and threw their hands over their ears. The humans were few and far between, but their cries were noticeable. Raven tried not to flinch. Slowly her blood pooled around her feet. Dizziness struck her and she could hardly stand. She closed her eyes and summoned her strength, but none came. Trigon had blocked her powers.

Trigon moved over to her, still talking. His hands closed around her shoulders, pressing the thorns deeper into her skin. She could just barely keep her face emotionless. It felt as though everyone could see the flinch in her eyes. The crowd hissed and booed and one demon cried out in a voice that sounded in both demonic and English at the same time, as if she needed a translation.

"She's only half demon!"

She felt Trigon's breath on her ear.

"Are you just going to let him say that about you?"

Raven was silent, her violet eyes flickering in her dizzy trance.

"Release you demon, Raven. Show them what you can become." Trigon commanded as he stepped away. Raven closed her eyes. She felt too weak to resist. The burning pain changed to a fiery rage and she let it go, spreading through her veins. Her eyes snapped open, blood red. Black misty tentacles of her cloak and solidified. The talking demon was snatched up to the stage by one of these tentacles. Another wrapped around his neck. She brought the demon close to her face.

"I am more of a demon than you will ever be!" she spat out and the demon whimpered. The atmosphere of the entire room changed. The blood red walls began to drip as though the stains of crimson were fresh once more. Black mist hovered over the room. Demons and tortured souls alike collapsed, grabbing at their throats as the mist crowded their lungs.

Raven glared at the cowering demon. He choked for air, his eyes bulging from his skull. Cuts exploded across his skin and his blood bubbles out of them, boiling. The mist entered his body through the cuts, filling his veins before solidifying into thick black tentacles.

The mist vanished and the room could breathe again. The red returned to the walls. The back talking demon twitched for a moment before dying. The demonic Raven turned back to her audience.

"Any other objections?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ceremony ended, but another speech began. By this time, Raven was so far out of it that it was amazing she could listen to it at all. Even so, a specific part of the speech caught her attentions VERY quickly.

"We began the invasion on Earth after the last of my daughter's ceremonies."

She had a bone to pick with her father.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They stormed down the hall. Raven wasn't sure where she got the strength to storm.

"You did well, my daughter." Trigon said. Raven shivered. She didn't want to think about it. She had his blood all over her. She just wanted to forget that it was there.

"You're going to invade Earth!"

Trigon looked back at her and shrugged.

"So?"

"We had a deal!"

He smiled at her evilly. "Ah, true. The deal was if I LEAVE Earth, you would become heir. I left. Now I'm going back. That was NOT included in the deal, dear Raven."

Raven stopped. "I came here for the safety of the Earth! You kept your part of the deal, so I'll keep mine. I'll go through all your damned ceremonies and become heir. Then I will kill myself and leave you with nothing, as soon as you or any of the creatures of Hell lay foot on Earth."

He laughed. "Oh, I think not daughter. You see, I have a new deal."

Raven frowned. This couldn't be good.

"Tonight, after the first ceremony if completely finished, you may return to the Earth until the sunrise. While there, you may retrieve that green one you seem to adore and bring him back here. While he is your pet, he will be protected from even me. If you were to kill yourself, however, he would become free game. Would you care for me to describe what would happen to him then?"

Raven's eyes flickered. How dare he use her Beast Boy as a bargaining chip! He could live in Hell as a pet to royalty, or die a horrid death when Hell came to Earth. She said nothing, unsure of what she would say if she opened her mouth. He smiled.

"I knew you would agree. It's settled, then. You save your little pet's life and I save yours."

Raven nodded silently, still unable to speak. She hated him now more than ever.

And that was saying something.

"Now that that is settled, we must get going. We have much preparing to do."

"How many of this damned ceremonies are there?" Raven asked, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her as she began to walk again. She didn't like it when the world span like this.

"Two more. One will be a sort of coronation, crowning you my heir and Princess of Hell."

Raven began to lag behind as her strength failed her. "And the other?"

She could hear the laugh in Trigon's voice as he answered her. "The other will be a mating ceremony."

Raven stopped. It felt as though cold ice water had been dropped on her head. She was frozen. "M-Mating?" He turned to her with a frown. "Keep walking." he commanded and she followed, slowly.

"And yes, mating. The first of many that will be continued throughout your rein to ensure that you produce an heir of your own."

"Many?" her stomach did flip-flops. "I-I can't mate yet! I'm not ready!" After the words left her mouth, she expected to be hit and yelled at. Neither happened. Trigon simply said: "Of course you are."

She felt hot tears rising and she swallowed them down with a gulp.

"You would mate your little pet, would you not?" He finished and Raven almost tripped. He had meant Beast Boy, that was obvious. Was that why he was letting her "keep" him? That was too much. Raven hit her knees, feeling a wave of sickness wash over her.

"Keep walking." Trigon commanded, but Raven couldn't even stand any longer. The world was spinning faster.

"I can't." she choked out. She felt like she was going to throw up. Her arms pressed against her stomach, the thrones tearing at her skin.

"Why not?" Trigon asked in annoyance.

"Blood loss." Raven choked, closing her eyes against the burning pain.

"Nonsense! Stand up!" Raven rose to her feet shakily. Even with all her strength bled out of her, she managed it. Her arms fell limply to her sides, though her stomach pains continued.

"Good. Now keep walking." Raven did keep walking, though she wasn't sure how she managed it…

((Guess what? About 80 of this chapter was already written! In fact, a lot of the next chapters were already pre-written. That will make updates faster, so rejoice! NOW you see where the lemon chapter would just happen to fit in, right? Uh huh, you think you do. But you're wrong. Confused? Good. Keep reading so I can help unconfused you!))


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

Disclaimer: It's 10 in the morning. Do you really want me to try and get creative? I don't. Own. The. Teen. Titans.

Though I can't wait to see The End Part 3 tonight at 8! Only on Toonami!

Look at me! I'm a living advertisement!

A/N: Sorry, I know I said updates would be faster, but a lot just happened, so this one took a little while. Sorry!

-Chapter 28-

Everyone was asleep when she arrived. She was thankful for that. She knew she was going to break down and having the others there would only make it worse. She felt the tears already and she was only at Beast Boy's door. How could she just ask him to come to Hell for her? How could she ask him to leave the others behind, to let them all die?

She drew a shaky breath and reached to knock on the door, but stopped to look at her hand. It was covered in a stain black glove with an overlay of blood red lace. It seemed to formal. It just wasn't her. She bit her lip and shook her head. No. It was her. It was her now. She was just being clingy to the images of the past. The images that reminded her of when everything was all right…

But it wasn't all right. Not anymore.

She knocked. No one answered. So, she opened the door slowly. She heard Beast Boy's odd snoring before she could see into his room. She slipped through a small opening in the door and closed it behind her carefully. He was asleep.

"Beast Boy?" She asked, but he didn't even stir. He was clutching a teddy bear to his chest. She smiled. She knew that teddy bear. Not wanting to wake him, she climbed into the bed, draping an arm lightly over his chest. He stirred lightly, snuggling into her. There was a tense moment of odd silence before he returned to his oblivious snoring.

After a while, Raven decided that she needed to talk to him. She only had until sunrise. She shook him lightly with a gloved hand. "Beast Boy, wake up. I need to talk to you."

Beast Boy's eyes fluttered open. "Who?"

"It's me, Raven"

Beast Boy rubbed his eyes, blinked up at her, then sat up in one big rush.

"RAE? I thought you left!"

Raven twisted her gloved hands in her lap awkwardly.

"I did. I can't stay long. I'm only here until sunrise. I need to talk to you."

Beast Boy blinked a few times again, letting his eyes adjust to the dark before really looking at Raven. He smiled goofily at her, exposing a fang.

"Wow, Rae. You look nice."

Raven didn't look up at him. Instead, she watched her hands as they twisted in her lap.

"Really? I don't feel nice."

Beast Boy shrugged. "Well, you are living in Hell now." he said it casually, like Raven had merely moved into a richer part of town. Had it been that easy to accept?

"You don't know the half of it."

Raven pushed up the long billowing sleeves until they reached a point above her gloves. The wounds from the thorns had stopped bleeding. Raven felt as if they stopped bleeding simply because she had no more blood to bleed. That, of course, was not the case, but it felt like it. Still, the gashes from the thorns did remain.

"God… Rae… what happened?" Beast Boy asked, running a finger cautiously over one of the gashes. Raven didn't even flinch, only watched him. When he withdrew his hand, she let her sleeve drop.

"It… was a ceremony." Raven explained simply, looking back at her lap, where she rested her hands again. Beast Boy shivered visibly, but didn't demand a further explanation. He looked up at her sadly. She bit her lip.

"Beast Boy… I…"

She choked.

"Beast Boy… Trigon has… I mean…"

She took a deep breath and turned to him, looking him in the eye.

"Trigon is using you, Beast Boy! He's not planning on leaving Earth alone. He plans to take over, but he told me that…"

She looked away from him again. "That if I bring you back… then you'll be safe. I'm just afraid that… If you do come back… That he'll use you again."

She shook her head.

"I don't want him to hurt you, but I just can't ask you to come to Hell."

Beast Boy went to stand up, hitting his head on the top bunk in the process and falling back onto his bed, rubbing his head.

"Why did you go? If he's going to take over the Earth anyway, you might as well stay here!"

Raven shook her head again. "It doesn't matter where I am now, it will all end the same."

"Then stay."

He had a point. She hugged him. "I'll stay."

Beast Boy returned the hug with a smile. "Good."

Raven rested her head on his pillow and he laid down beside her, facing her. He wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her close. She let him, shutting her eyes.

"Beast Boy…"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Beast Boy was stunned for a moment before he smiled and hugged her to him.

"I love you too."

Raven smiled and sighed, falling asleep almost instantly.

((Short chapter, sorry! I just thought that this was a good ending for a chapter.

So… How about that season finale, huh?))


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Although… in The End… There was a room… Remember my Raven-proof room in my fan fic? Oh… and there was that thing where Beast Boy buzzed into Trigon's ear and transformed. Yeah. Do you remember when I made Beast transform and go into Trigon's body through a cut where he was supposed to transform but didn't because Arella attacked? Hmm. I told you, they read fan fics I swear!

Then again I do have all these weird theories…

Men in Black suits appear behind the author. She turns, gasps, and turns back to her computer.

Oh. I must have been mistaken. Clearly, no such thing that I have mentioned can possibly be true. It was all just a coincidence. I have no other theories. Everything is outrageous and untrue. I do not own Teen Titans. Nor does my writing have any effect on said TV show. Thank you for reading this totally un-influential and fictional story.

A/N: I have nothing else to say. Please read my story.

-Chapter 29-

All of the Titans were in Beast Boy's room. Raven's eyes were open, but distant. She had stopped screaming five minutes ago. All of the cuts across her skin had begun to leak blood as soon as the sun rose. The blood seemed to burn and bubble against her skin. Now she was calmer, but the blood was still bubbling up.

Cyborg was busy bandaging and re-bandaging her wounds. It didn't seem to help. Every time he bandaged a wound, it just bed right through again. Whimpers left Raven's throat every minute.

Beast Boy was pacing, trying to tell the story for the 100th time. "I told her to stay. I convinced her to stay. I didn't think it would make a difference!" What happened? What's wrong with her? Will she be okay?"

Cyborg gave up and lifted Raven off of the floor. "We have to get her to the ER now," Cyborg said softly, trying to remain calm. Raven whimpered again with the movement.

"What's wrong with her?" beast Boy pushed frantically. The noise was loud and Raven whimpered again. Cyborg flinched and gave Beast Boy a 'shut up' look.

"She's lost a lot of blood. It wasn't all today though. From the looks of it, these wounds aren't fresh. She must have lost a lot of blood when the wounds were inflicted."

Beast Boy bit his lip. Raven whimpered again, her eyes squeezing shut. She wanted to die. Maybe that would just end all of her problems.

If she did that… then what?

Raven's eyes snapped open, blazing red. Cyborg almost dropped her in shock. A black mist crowded the room. Beast Boy stumbled for the window. Robin hit the ground, coughing. The dark mist weighed heavily in his lungs. Cyborg began to spark oddly. Starfire choked and hit the ground. Beast Boy struggled to get the window open, the heaviness in the air weighing upon him.

"I will not die here." Raven hissed. The mist swirled and got thicker until no one could breathe. Cyborg did drop her, just before he hit the ground himself. Soon all of the Titans had fallen unconscious, unable to breathe.

The mist withdrew, healing every cut on her body as it did. Fully healed, the demonic Raven stood. She bent roughly and lifted the unconscious Beast Boy.

And just like that, the demon and the changeling were gone.

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Beast Boy awoke in a large and very comfortable bed. The satin sheets were a bit chilly, but the bed was overwhelmingly soft and seemed to glow a shade of orange due to the fact that the light was filtering through a kind of bed scarf that seemed to surround him. The headboard was a thick glazed redwood with intricate carvings detailed into it. He was reminded of a Princess's bed.

Something heavy rested around his neck. He touched it, but ignored it when he realized that he couldn't identify it.

Overwhelmingly spicy scents filled his sensitive nose. Among the smells was a strong but familiar incense. It was the same scent that he caught lightly when Raven's cloak would whirl past him.

Lavender. Raven. Raven! Maybe she would know where they were!

He pushed the light scarf out of his way and stepped onto the ground. The room was dim because it was lit only by candles, though some were more like torches. Candelabras on the wall supported the bigger candles while smaller ones rested in thin plates shaped like golden autumn leaves.

Beast Boy felt as though he had stepped back in time. The room seemed like a mix between a medieval palace and an Indian harem room. The walls were stone and the place was humid, but drafty. Even so, bright exotic colors decorated the room in satiny oranges and reds that shimmered in the flickering candlelight.

The air was thick with smoke and what felt like steam. He tried to rub his eyes clean, but his vision couldn't be un-fogged. "Raven?" he asked and the noise of sloshing water answered. Water Steam. So it was steam in the air! Okay, mystery number one solved. One million more to go. Joy.

He followed the steam to a door on the other side of the room. A hah! The door slid open, rather than swung. Beast Boy liked doors like that for some reason. Maybe it was because every door in the Tower opened much the same way.

"You come in here and so help me I will kill you." said Raven in her usual monotone. Beast Boy smiled. It was so good to hear a familiar voice. "Where are we?" he asked, leaning against the door and sliding down to the ground.

"Hell." Came the simple monotonous response.

"Wow." said Beast Boy in awe. "This is Hell?" He took another look around the elaborate room. Not exactly what I thought Hell would be like."

"It's a lot worse than you think. I'm just royalty." The water sloshed some more.

"So… this is your room?" beast Boy asked. There was a long silence. Raven pondered the question before responding. Technically it was her room now. She sighed and got out of the large hot spring-like tub and grabbed the smooth towel shaped cloth at the edge.

"In order for this to be my room, this had to be my home. Home is where the heart is. This is not my home. This is not my room."

The green changeling frowned. He hadn't meant to upset her. "I'm sorry, Rae. I didn't mean…"

"I know. Don't worry about it. Besides, I should be the one apologizing right now." The door slid open and Beast Boy fell into the room. His head bounced off of the mosaic tiled floor sharply and he let out a loud "OW!"

Raven's skirt brushed his cheek and he blinked up at her, a bit stunned. Her hair was still wet and it clung to her face in softly curling strands and fell into her eyes, dripping. She was wearing a simple ankle length soft red gown. The changeling wondered for a moment if it was silk? It was what he had always thought silk would be like, but what did he know about fabric? She knelt beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked and Beast Boy snapped out of a sort of daze. "Yeah! Fine!" He felt a soft pink tingeing his green cheeks. He tried to sit up quickly, but Raven steadied him by placing a hand on his back. If he had sat up any quicker then he might have just hurt his head worse.

Raven stood, assured that he was fine. "I have to talk to you." she said in a tone that suggested she'd rather not. Beast Boy nodded and stood, following Raven over to the bed. She sat down and tried to sit 'Indian style', but couldn't in the dress. She made a noise of frustration when the dress wouldn't let her and settled for sitting on her knees. The bed bounced slightly when Beast Boy plopped down on it, sitting the way Raven had wanted to. He waited for Raven to start.

"Beast Boy…" She paused, considering her words carefully. "there is… no way to get you home. At least, not yet."

Beast Boy tilted his head to one side like a confused puppy. "So… we're stuck here?" Raven nodded. "For how long?" Raven sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Anywhere up to two weeks, depending on how long these ceremonies take."

Beast Boy shrugged. "That's not bed." Raven frowned. "Time isn't the problem." Beast Boy nodded. "I know. Trigon is."

"Besides that, Beast Boy." Beast Boy gave it some thought.

"The problem is…" Raven began and Beast Boy snapped out of thought. "what can happen within this short amount of time. For example… What happened while you were unconscious."

Beast Boy nodded, wanting to hear this.

"My demon rose in a desperate attempt to heal my body and survive. It worked, but when I was through healing my demon was still in control. Under control of said bad side I brought you here. When I awoke I was afraid that Trigon would use you again, so I went into the astral plane to research the culture of Hell."

Beast Boy gave her an odd look. Now was not the time to explain the astral plane. So, she ignored him.

"And… well, I found a way to protect you. Even from Trigon. The thing is…" How to phrase this? Raven thought it over a moment before deciding that the best way to phrase this would be bluntly. "Beast Boy… You are now my pet."

Beast Boy touched the thing around his neck again. A collar! It was a collar! "P-PET?" Raven flinched at his outburst. She bit her lip. At least he got it. He frowned.

"That's… That's not all." Raven continued and Beast Boy nodded rather than spoke. He was still frowning. Raven felt her heart sink.

"Well… you see…" Raven looked down at her hands, which rested on her legs. "A new heir has to go through a series of ceremonies." Beast Boy nodded again, cueing her to continue. "One ceremony is… well…" She took a deep breath and let it out with a 'whoosh'. "It's a… mating… ceremony."

Beast Boy's jaw dropped.

"M-M-MATING?"

Raven nodded. "And pets are normally the first choice for such ceremonies."

Beast Boy choked on his words.

"There are other options!" Raven said quickly and Beast Boy relaxed with a sigh.

"Oh, good. So I guess you'll have to tell them that the ceremony thing is off, huh?"

Raven shook her head. "The ceremony will continue."

"But… you said…"

"I said that there were other options. I didn't say that one of those options was canceling the ceremony."

Beast Boy gulped. "Then… who…?"

"A demon, probably." Raven said, forcing monotone into her voice. It was so hard to talk like this as if it were nothing. Beast Boy had a look of horror on his face. Raven had to look away from him. There was along silence. Raven stood.

She walked over to the redwood dresser, picking up one of the elaborate golden brushes to brush her still wet hair.

Beast Boy bit his lip, watching her. Her eyes were blank as they stared into the mirror. She brushed the same portion of her hair over and over again. He stood and walked up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I'll… I'll do it."

Raven dropped the brush. It hit the dresser with a loud clatter. She turned to face him, unbelieving.

"Really?"

He nodded and she hugged him, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Thank you, Beast Boy. Thank you."

He smiled awkwardly and hugged her back, twirling her wet hair in his fingers. She cried into his shoulder, holding him tighter than she ever had before.

"Thank you Beast Boy, for everything."

((Woohoo! Two chapters in one night! I'm on a roll!))


	31. Chapter Thirty

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. Yeah yeah. Blahda Blahda.

A/N: I love all of you , my fans!

Don't worry, the lemon won't be disgusting. It will beautiful and artistically done with many moments of adorable fluff. I couldn't stomach writing anything else.

Trigon told her that he'd be safe. He called him her pet. She researched what he meant by all that. For example, how is one made into a pet. What exactly does pet status mean in Hell? Why can no other demon touch someone's 'pet'. Ect… Thank you for asking, though, TheUbu. Thinking is good.

And to Lavaashcrow… Go on ahead. I'm flattered that you like my story that much. I am an artist myself, and you'll find things like Raven's Prom Dress Design on my website… www.arichan16. and… BTW… WOW! Chapter 30! Score!

-Chapter 30-

"Now, Trigon has restrained my powers, so there's nothing a go to change a thing. He only lets them go when I let my demon go. Just a warning - on stage that seems to happen a lot and the results are bloody. Trigon plans on invading Earth after the ceremonies are finished. We just have to stay unharmed until then. Then we can escape through the portal like the rest of his army and fight him on Earth. In the mean time, we need to play our parts."

Raven had been unfolding and tossing dress layers as she spoke, trying to remember which order they went in.

"Which means that you have to, when in public eye, be a pet. You'll wear this." Raven tossed him a piece of fabric similar to a plain white sheet. Beast Boy tugged at corners, turning it upside down and sideways trying to figure out how to put it on. "It also means that you must obey everything I say while they watch. No questions, no complaints. I am the Princess. No one defies me. Especially not my own pet."

She looked at him to make sure he got the severity of the situation.

He nodded his head, staring at the odd white outfit still, confused. Raven smiled, shaking her head, and waltzed over to him. She turned to outfit right end up. Beast Boy looked at it again when she handed it back to him and walked away. He still didn't know how to put it own!

Raven grabbed up the first few layers, tossing them over a very oriental looking folding screen. He tried not to try to see her form through the screen. In doing so, he turned completely around and focused his attentions on the odd clothing.

He heard the cloth shuffle as she stepped out from behind the screen to put on the rest of the layers, assured that she was thoroughly covered in 3 layers already. She managed the fourth on her own just fine. Then she picked up the corset and sighed. She slipped it over her shoulders, but that was all that she could do. Sighing in frustration, she turned back to Beast Boy.

"Could you help me with this? Just pull the strings in the back as tight as you can and then tie it up."

Beast Boy and Raven was very pleased to know that he didn't pull the damned thing as tight as the ladies-in-waiting had. As soon as she saw them again, they were fired.

"I don't understand this place." Beast Boy said, plopping onto the bed when he was finished tying up the corset. "I mean… No Hellfire and torment? It's all kind of… ordered. With…laws… and stuff. I thought Hell was supposed to be like chaos or something."

Raven sighed and sat down, thoroughly surprised and glad when she found that she could sigh and breathe as well. Beast Boy was definitely tying her corsets from here on out.

"There is and order. There is also a chaos. It's a bit had to explain. You see, this isn't the only Hell in existence. Hellfire and chaos is somewhere else, I'm sure. Every dimension has it's own Hell and it's own Heaven. It's kind of a balance thing. This isn't our dimension's Hell. This is Hell for somewhere else."

Beast Boy nodded, a bit confused. "But I thought this was a dimension in it's own, not a part of another dimension."

Raven ran her hands through her hair. "It is. You see, a 'reality' is based on an over lapping of different dimensions to make one big dimension. Some of those dimensions are a part of the 'reality' while maintaining an independent dimensionality. Do you understand that at all?"

Beast Boy nodded, then shook his head, then tilted it to the side in confusion. "I don't know."

Raven sighed again. She needed a visual.

"Okay. Remember in that making of documentary you watched on the making of that movie you like? Remember the colored circles they used to make the lights different colors?"

Beast Boy nodded.

"Okay. Now if you take a blue one and a red one and you cross them over each other, they make a purple color, right?"

Beast Boy nodded again.

"But even though they make purple, they are still blue and red. Now, pretend that blue is our Heaven and red is our Hell. Cross them over and you get our reality, purple."

Beast Boy said 'oh!' in realization.

"Now, lets say that there are many Hells. In the beginning, that wasn't so. When God and his angels were created, the dimensional rules of the universe automatically created a Devil and some demons. It's the universal balance. For every good deed, there is an equal balance of bad ones. The balance is always maintained. Otherwise we'd tip the scales and the universe would fall apart."

Beast Boy nodded again. Good. At least he was listening.

"But one Heaven and one Hell was not enough. There also had to be order and disorder. It wasn't enough that Hell was chaotic and Heaven wasn't. No, there had to be order and chaos in both Heaven and Hell. So the orderly Hells were created."

She paused and looked at him again. He nodded, cuing her to continue.

"Several of the most powerful demons broke away from the 2 Hells, creating even more. Even so, the overall evil rules all Hells, even the self-proclaimed kings."

"So… there's a demon more powerful than Trigon?"

Raven nodded. "In other dimensions, yes. It shouldn't matter to us, though. They cannot exist in our realities just as we cannot exist in theirs. So to us, Trigon is the most terrible."

Beast Boy rubbed his head like he had been hit repeatedly.

"I didn't know Hell was so complicated!"

Raven nodded, not sure of what else to say. They sat there a moment, taking in all that had been said. Then finally Beast Boy laid back on the bed and asked another question, staring at the ceiling as if he was bored.

"So… why does Trigon want an heir so bad?"

Raven shook her head and laid back as well.

"Another cultural thing, it seems. Demons don't really live forever, just a really really really long time. Trigon is old. If he didn't get and heir soon, they were going to overthrow him and replace him with a younger king. He conquered this dimension and made it into his own Hell, even if he did have to follow some other society's rules. He wants his bloodline to continue, not be replaced by some youth. Having an heir has secured his throne, but even so… They don't like me. Here half-demons are merely royal servants, not Princesses. So, his rule might get overthrown anyway."

Raven looked over to Beast Boy to find his eyes drifting shut. When he realized that Raven had stopped talking he said "Keep talking, I'm listening." Raven merely shook her head and responded with an "I'm done", to which Beast Boy said "oh" and fell asleep.

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The next few days Beast Boy spent in complete boredom. Raven tried to take him everywhere with her, but there were some places that he couldn't go for reasons that he didn't know. Sometimes when Raven left him in the room, she'd come back covered in blood. Of course, the blood was never hers, so Beast Boy quit asking.

Sometimes she'd leave before he woke up and returned by brunch. If he was half-awake by the time she left, he could hear bells that normally translated into something more along the lines of a Faerie in distress in his dreams.

One night the door swung open to expose a frantic Raven who was, once again, covered in blood. Normally she'd walk in without a word and go take a bath after which they'd remain in silence until Beast Boy found something to talk about that did not involve asking her how her day had been.

This time she just stood in the doorway, a look of helplessness on her face that made it seem like she was about to cry.

"I need mental help, Beast Boy…" She muttered, her voice shaky like she was, indeed, going to cry and also scratchy as if she had been doing a lot of yelling. Either that or had a case of strep throat, but Beast Boy was sure it wasn't the latter.

Beast Boy stood to walk to her. "What do you mean, Rae?"

Raven flinched at the nickname, something that she hadn't done in a long time. Beast Boy swallowed the knot in his throat and it landed like a heavy chunk of ice into his stomach.

"I mean, I'm going insane!" Raven said, her volume louder than it normally was. "I'm going murderously insane!"

He didn't want to hear the rest. He just wanted to remain oblivious. He wanted her to just walk to the bathroom and wash off all the blood so they could pretend like nothing had happened, just as always. Still, Raven continued as if she was desperate for something. Help? Reassurance? Affection? Beast Boy didn't know what he should do. Hugging her seemed like a good idea, but when he tried to step closer she flinched away.

"Look at me, Beast Boy! Look at the blood! I killed again tonight. I keep killing people. This time, though… oh this time was different. I liked it, Beast Boy!"

She said the last sentence in a hiss-like whisper and Beast Boy felt his skin crawl. She was scaring him. He just wanted her to stop! "Rae, please…"

She interrupted him. She was not playing around anymore. He needed to know. No more pretending that nothing was wrong. He needed to understand how serious this all was!

"It was a rush! God, was it a rush! His lie was in my hands. I was in control, for once in my life! He begged and I chose to refuse him! I enjoyed it! What's wrong with me, Beast Boy?"

His mouth opened to say something, but she continued before he could answer.

"I need help. I need mental help, but what then? They'll just medicate me, try to make me forget my powers, to forget my demon side. I don't need to forget, I need to control… but I felt in control when I killed him!"

Beast Boy was scared, but not for himself. Raven was finally cracking and he didn't know what to do!

"I'm going to be sick…" She said, hitting her knees roughly with one hand grabbing the doorframe and the other arm wrapping around her stomach. Beast Boy ran to her, pulling her towards him so he could hold her in his lap.

"It'll be okay, Rae. I swear. We'll get home, defeat Trigon, and then everything will go back to the way it was."

Raven was shaking as he held her, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"I'll find some way to get you home… I promise Beast Boy. I'll get you home. Just you."

Raven sobbed and drew in a shaky breath to calm herself. The pause was enough for Beast Boy to toss in an objection.

"Just… Just me? No! Raven! What about you? I won't go without-"

"I can't go back, not like this." Raven interrupted. "I'm not a hero anymore. I'm a monster. I'm a murderer, and out of control demon…"

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is! If I went back to Earth, I'd be jailed!"

"We'll help you! You're a Titan!"

"NO! I couldn't take it Beast Boy. I'm sorry…"

She lifted herself from his lap and leaned into the door frame, her eyes oddly distant and her arm still wrapped tightly around her stomach.

Tear sprung up in Beast Boy's eyes and the panicked distant look in her eyes faded to one of pure sorrow.

"Please don't cry… Oh Beast Boy…"

She stood there, shaking for a moment, gazing down at him. Then, just as one of her own tears fell to the ground, she turned and ran down the hallway, leaving Beast Boy sitting alone in the doorway, smeared with half-dried blood.

((Woo! I'm staying at someone else's house while the rest of my family is out of town, so I don't know how much more I can get done over that time. It might even be a week before my next post, so please don't be mad at me! I'll post ASAP! Oh, and by the way, this chapter was super crazy. I mean, just the random emotional breakdown there… It wasn't really random, though. Not really. I mean, if you were a part demon hero from Earth living in Hell who just found out that you have to have sex or else the one you love will die and also just killed someone and discovered that, somehow, you liked the control that it offered meaning that your demonic side was surfacing in you everyday personality instead of being it's own identity that you can shrug off… You'd break down, too! Review!))


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't own Teen Titans. I don't make any money doing this, which sucks because it's really good and if it weren't Teen Titans, I probably could. Besides, I'm saving up to go to New York! Yay for Broadway! Dances while singing in a teasing manner I'm gunna go see Wicked! I'm gunna go see Wicked!

A/N: Wee. I woke up way too damn early. My head hurts! But, Hell… I'm having fun!

-Chapter 31-

Raven walked down the long main hall. The blood was dried and caked, but she didn't seem to notice. She had stopped running a few minutes ago. She was thinking clearer now and had wiped away her tears. The demons that scattered the hall jumped out of the way for her, staring as she walked past, not seeing them.

Everything had just been so insane… Even she was wondering if SHE was insane. And maybe she was. Maybe it was just that she was fusing more with her emotions, being able to express them now. Everything seemed to be less black and white and more of a muddy color. Her emotions, including her demon, all seemed to become less independent.

Every line was beginning to blur. She didn't know who she was anymore. She thought back to the visual she used of red and blue overlapping to make purple. All of her emotions were different colors, overlapping now. Raven just didn't know what color they were making.

Some say that a combination of all colors makes black.

Some say that a combination of all colors makes white.

So which was she becoming? Black, or white?

"Your majesty, the girl's influence on the Earth is becoming weak."

Raven stopped just before reaching a door. The door closed as she froze. Slowly, she crept a step forward to listen in.

"How much longer should the connection remain?"

"Sir… All of her energy is here now. She has completely disconnected herself from this world. Ever since she brought the boy here…"

Trigon made a snorting noise, for she was sure that it was Trigon.

"Answer my question."

"About 3 more days."

There was a pause. Raven figured that they were doing exactly what she was, counting the days in her mind.

Let's see… tomorrow was the coronation. The next day was the mating ceremony…

"How powerful will the connection be on the 3rd day?"

"Not powerful enough, sir. The portal will never be able to stand up so long with such a connection…"

Another pause.

"Then we open the portal the day of the final ceremony. During the final ceremony. That way my daughter will remain occupied."

Raven backed away from the door, running silently down the hall before turning around to walk back up it. She'd look suspicious if she was caught going away from the door, but at least this way she could say she just came from her room. And, sure enough, she bumped into her father just coming out of the room as she walked up to it once more.

"Daughter. Why are you out so late?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore my kingdom. Is that a crime?"

"It's not your kingdom yet, girl. Remember that."

Raven stood there as the demon strode past her. She memorized the door and turned around. If they played their cards right, then she could send Beast Boy home sooner than she imagined.

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When Raven returned, Beast Boy had already fallen asleep on the bed, curled up into a little ball, hugging the covers like the teddy bear he had left behind. For the first time in a while, Raven noticed the blood that had grown crusty all over her. She needed a bath.

Raven slipped into the steaming pool of water, watching it turn a deep shade of pink as she did so. Everything that had happened earlier felt so distant now, like she had shoved it back for her own safety.

What exactly happened anyway? How had she gotten so covered in blood? What exactly did she say before she ran from Beast Boy?

She couldn't remember anymore… and maybe that was for the best.

She sighed and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't that she couldn't fully remember… it was all just fuzzy. Like the view of the ceiling with the steam in the way. It didn't matter. She closed her eyes.

Now that she was relaxed, her exhaustion hit her. A lot had happened. She rolled over so she could rest her arms on the edge of the pool, resting her head on her arms. The water was so soothing,

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Raven wasn't in bed when Beast Boy woke up. He stood up drowsily, trying not to knock over the food that someone had brought in and set on the bed. Nice thought, bad location. He turned into a cat and stretched a bit, getting out the morning soreness.

Once he was human again, he looked about the room. Raven wasn't in the pile of cushions. He remembered the last time she wasn't there when he woke up, the first time he woke up in Hell. She was bathing. Maybe that was where she was. He knocked on the door. No response.

"Hello? Rae? It's me, Beast Boy. Heeeellllloooo? Are you in there? If you don't answer me, I'm coming in!"

Still, nothing. He slid the door open, walking in cautiously. A towel was folded by the door. He picked it up. Just in case. He looked around the room. The tubs were pools in the floor, one was a large hot spring that steamed, while the other was just a tiny cool pool. The floors were colored with mosaic tiles and the room was lit with torches that shimmered in the steam. He walked over to the steaming pool.

An arm was sprawled over the floor, deep purple wet hair pooled in pieces over it. He bent down beside her, shaking her a bit. He couldn't see her face, or anything but her hair and shoulder blades. She didn't stir.

Now worried, Beast Boy tossed the towel into the water, wrapping it around her body before pulling it out of the water.

The water splashed all over the floor, soaking Beast Boy as he slipped and fell on her butt, Raven limply falling on top of him. He rolled her over , making sure the towel had her completely covered. He pressed two fingers to the side of her neck, feeling the pulse there.

Good.

He held his hand over her mouth. Was she breathing? He couldn't be sure. He placed a hand over the bottom of her rib cage, careful to avoid her chest incase she woke up.

Good. She was breathing.

He relaxed instantly, sighing and leaning back into the puddle so that he was now fully soaked. Raven rolled over and coughed a bit. Her back was now to him. He tried to shake her again and this time she woke up.

"Hn?" She sat up, quickly snatching up the towel as it slipped down the front. She looked around, a bit startled. "What happened?"

Beast Boy shrugged before answering. "You fell asleep in the bath tub."

Raven blinked and looked around. "Oh." She stood, pulling the towel tightly around her. "What time is it?" She thought for a moment, then shook her head. She never knew what time it was in this place, so neither would Beast Boy. There were no clocks, and since they never went outside, there were no sundials. Was there even an outside? "Never mind."

"Someone brought breakfast. It's on the bed."

Raven sighed, looking around for a robe. She was sure there was one hanging somewhere.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No. I went looking for you."

Raven sighed and walked over to a far wall, taking the red silk robe off of the wall. "What would you have done if you hadn't found me?"

Her back turned to him, she dropped her towel. Beast Boy turned away, blushing. She shrugged on the silk robe and tied it before turning around. Beast Boy shrugged, not sure if she saw the gesture.

"I don't know, Rae. Panicked, probably."

Raven walked back over, kneeling in front of him, the water soaking through her robe. She rested her hands on the sides of his arms.

"Would you have left the room?"

"I don't know, Rae. I really don't. When things like that happen… I don't think…"

Raven sighed and dropped her hands. "I know that! That's why I asked. You're not to leave the room without me, okay?"

Beast Boy nodded. He understood, or thought he did. Outside the room there were TONS of very evil looking demons. Raven touched his cheek lightly. There was an odd look in her eye. A mix of several emotions she was holding back.

He leaned forward.

Wrapping his arms around her neck, he closed the remaining distance and kissed her.

She returned it fully.

All the events over the past few days, all the stress and tears that they had caused… She needed this. She needed the comforting warmth of his arms pressing into her, holding her. She needed the gentle press of his lips against hers, sending and electric jolt between them. She needed to let go, to kiss him back, to hold him closer to her. She needed to crawl into his lap, to press closer into him. To press her body into him. To thread her fingers into his hair…

When they broke apart, Beast Boy laughed, holding her in his lap.

"Now THAT'S a kiss. Unlike that goodbye peck you tried to pass off as our first."

Raven bopped his upside the head.

"Hey! It was a very tense time and I had to hurry and I didn't want to-"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"Excuses, excuses!"

Raven smiled lightly, hugging him tighter to her.

For that one moment, they forgot about every thing that had been troubling them. For that one moment, they even forgot they were in Hell.

Of course, moments like that can never last long.

((A/N)) Wee! Just got back from New York yesterday. Saw Wicked on Broadway. I suggest that you all go see it now. NO! I COMMAD you ALL to go see it NOW! It was AMAZING! I got autographs and pictures from

and with the cast! It was SO EXCITING!

Then we got home and mom fell and broke her ankle. She'll need surgery.

So please, please, please, please! UNDERSTAND!

Drops to knees and begs her fans not to leave her))


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

Disclaimer: I looked in the Largest Toys R Us in New York's Time Square and still couldn't find a Beast Boy plushie, so I don't even own that. Please don't sue!

A/N: Wow. The kiss in the last chapter has brought up more about the lemon chappie! Yes, it's coming up soon. No, not this chapter. No, it won't be yucky. It'll be nice, no yucky descriptions. Some cute fluff, a little scene from Beast Boy's past… Raven getting over some more of her issues. If it bugs you too much, you can skip it. It shouldn't, though, and it will really be more like lemon pie filling then a lemon, all light and fluffy.

-Chapter Thirty Two-

"Wow." Beast Boy said, sitting at the end of the bed. "Ya know, you have the best outfits down here."

Raven glared at him, straightening her skirt. "You try wearing 5 layers of clothing, topped off with a corset. THEN tell me that these outfits are the best."

Beast Boy smiled, a fang showing. The visible layers of Raven's dress were a purple medieval gown with billowing sleeves, a pleaded skirt trimmed with gold, and a deep black corset with velvet purple designs of thorns swirling subtly. It was beautiful, made of the best fabrics, but horribly hot and the corset squeezed. Raven slipped on the full length formal gloves.

"Well, they at least LOOK awesome." Beast Boy said, shrugging and hopping off of the bed. Raven frowned at herself as she looked in the mirror. "Right." Raven said, rolling her eyes as she turned from the mirror. "Whatever you say, Beast Boy." She said sarcastically and Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Come on. You look nice. Now say thank you and accept it."

Raven shifted, her skirt billowing at even the slightest of movements.

"I feel awkward in dresses." She said simply, tugging at a piece of hair before twirling it around her fingers. Beast Boy laughed, leaning back on a dresser.

"What?" Raven asked, dropping her hand.

"I've never seen you twirl your hair before."

"I don't twirl my hair."

"You just did!"

"No I…" She thought about it a moment, made a weird face, then said… "Did I?" Beast Boy nodded happily. Raven shook her head.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter." Beast Boy smiled in triumph.

"Sure it doesn't."

Raven glared at him, a hand on her hip. "We have more important things to do today. You're coming with me to today's ceremony."

"Really? Cool!"

Raven flinched at his enthusiasm. "No. Not cool."

Beast Boy pouted. "Why not cool? What's going to happen? What ceremony is it?"

Raven put a gloved finger over his lips.

"Not cool because someone or something normally ends up dead. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm suspecting some attempt of assassination. It's kind of a coronation ceremony. They'll make me the official heir. Now if you'll listen, I'll explain."

Beast Boy nodded and Raven dropped her hand.

"Good. Now, we'll go out onto the stage. I'll sit, but you don't sit until I cue you to. It'll be a hand gesture, almost a shrug. Trigon will speak. One demon will bring out a pitcher of wine and another will bring out a cup. Oh, don't look at me like that I am NOT going to get drunk off of a sip of wine. This is where more blah blah blah stuff will take place. Honestly, all you have to do is sit there. While your sitting there, though, please do not zone off. I want you to keep your eyes open. The demons don't like me and will very likely try to assassinate me and we do NOT want that to happen okay? Feel free to point out any assassination attempts before they kill me."

Raven shuffled through a drawer in the dresser Beast Boy was leaning on. "Got all that?"

"You're walking onto a stage and accepting wine from people who want to kill you. I'm sitting and making sure they don't kill you. Yeah, I got it."

Raven looked at him. He didn't seem so excited any more, but he wasn't panicking.

Yet.

Instead he leaned over a little so he was at level with Raven's head as she knelt over the drawer. He touched her cheek, turning her head to face him. He kissed her sweetly and she let him, returning it lightly. When they parted, she smiled lightly.

"I swear, Beast Boy, you keep me sane in this insane place."

"Who said you were sane?"

Raven stood, hand on her hip.

"What? You chose to go to Hell with you King of Hell father, then you kidnap a Titan and make him a pet while he's asleep! You might very well be insane."

"Yeah. Well. Well, you're not exactly trying to escape, are you?"

"Well, that is because I AM insane."

"Oh. I see."

She reached into the drawer, finding what she was looking for.

"Then you don't mind watching for assassins on a stage full of demons that would torture you if they had the chance?"

"Not at all."

Raven shrugged, pulling the item out of the drawer.

"Good. Then let's get going before we're fetched."

Raven pulled the gold colored chain from the drawer, clipping one end to the loop on Beast Boy's choker.

"What? What's with the leash?"

Raven closed the drawer, still holding the other end of the chain.

"What? Sure, the collar is nice, but it isn't just for looks."

Beast Boy put his hands on his hips.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Oh, so you'll go out onto a stage full of demons, but you won't go with a leash on. And yes. It's necessary."

Beast Boy pouted. Raven smiled lightly, amused. "Come on, Beast Boy. It can't be that bad."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course not." Raven said, smiling fully now.

"You are!"

Raven wrapped the chain around her hand and pulled. Beast Boy stumbled forward, steadying himself on the dresser so he wouldn't knock Raven over with him. Now on a short leash, very close to Raven, Beast Boy kissed her again.

"It's can't be that bad." She said as they parted.

"It could be worse." Beast Boy admitted with a playful grin.

"Good. Now let's go."

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Beast Boy sat, chained to the chair, bored. No demons looked any more dangerous then they already did. The talking was finally over, he hadn't caught any of it. For all he knew, it could've been a different language. The demons were bringing out the wine. He sat up straight. Was she really going to drink it? It could be poisoned! That's stupid!

He watched them pour the wine, watched Raven step forward…

Raven took the cup from the demon and brought it to her lips. Of course she thought about poison. She smelt it. How was wine supposed to smell? Especially demon wine? She took a sip. Not a small sip or a cautious sip, but a sip. It burned. She closed her eyes.

Hell, she'd felt worse pain than this. She could NOT be dying from heart burn. That's what it felt like at least. She let out a breath and smoke rose. She opened her eyes.

"That's it?" She touched the wine with a finger. It burned. She watched it turn black and smoke. "Holy water?"

She looked down into the cu, swirling the water around, then she laughed. "Where do you even get Holy Water in Hell?"

All the demons were stunned.

"It's ironic, really. I'm not killed by Holy Water because I'm part human. The very reason you tried to kill me has saved my life."

She tossed the wine from the cup over the demons that watched her, setting the cup on the table.

"You all really don't learn, do you? Night after night I stand here. Night after night one of your own dies. And still, you try something like this? You cannot kill the daughter of Trigon!"

The demons hit with the wine screamed in terror as their skin bubbled and boiled. Rave poured the pitcher of wine onto the stage. All the demons standing on the stage screamed as they burned, starting at their feet. Some threw themselves off of the stage in terror. Even Trigon flinched and lifted his feet as the wine pooled around his throne. Beast Boy touched the puddle with a finger and tasted it.

Hmm. Not bad.

One of the demons threw himself forward, his feet bubbled and still burning even though his contact with the wine had ceased and he fell through the air, dagger raised. Raven dodged the attack easily and the demon stood in front of her, the dagger pointing at her threateningly.

"No _half blood_ deserves to be our Queen. _Half bloods_ should remain as SLAVES!"

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Everyone else that has said that has died. What makes you think you're different? Go on, tell me. I like a good joke every now and then."

The demon did not explain, only attacked, Raven stepped to the side. She let the blade graze her arm. It burned and she did not bleed. Coated with Holy Water. How did this guy get so much Holy Water in Hell?

She waved her hand, tossing him to the stage floor in front of her. He burned in the wine and he struggled. Her eyes turned red with the use of her power, narrowing onto her victim. One word screamed through her head.

_Blood._

She closed her fist and, just like that, cuts exploded along his skin. Blood squirted from the random cuts as the demon screamed. Blood mixed with the blessed wine on the floor. The demon squirmed, coughing as the blood bubbled up into his throat.

Beast Boy flinched, throwing his arm up as the blood came down. She forcefully ripped the blood from her victim's body, raining it down upon the stage. His arm-shield didn't help. Blood soaked his white outfit and he cringed.

Ew!

Raven blinked, her eyes returning to normal with the gesture. Without a word, Raven turned and unhooked Beast Boy from the chair. Beast Boy took his cue to stand and he followed her as she lead him out.

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((A/N: Okay! The next chapter is the Lemon! You have been warned!

PLEASE read it! I will refer to it in later chapters and it's honestly fluffy. Honest!))


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

Disclaimer: You know what? I think you want to sue me because you're grumpy. I bet you won't be grumpy any more if you went to go see Wicked! So go see Wicked NOW!

A/N: Yeah! Back to the chapters I've already written! Hurrah! Oh, by the way.

Lemon on the way! Woohoo!

-Chapter Thirty Three-

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy. I never meant for you to see anything like that." Raven's voice was soft as they entered her room. It was odd, how she was so powerful on the stage, but so vulnerable here.

"It's okay, Raven."

Raven shook her head. "It's not okay, Beast Boy. None of this is okay."

She marveled at how he just shrugged. Her pale fingers wiped a crimson spot off of his cheek with a frown. Silently she took his hand and and led him to the door on the other side of the room. Beast Boy did not object, only marveled at the feel of her hand clasped around his.

When the door opened, Beast Boy stared at the bathroom. The mosaic tiles, the shimmering appearance of it all.

"You know, this is a really nice bathroom."

"Undress and get in the water. I'll turn around, just tell me when you're done."

Beast Boy was snatched from his thoughts.

"Done with the bath?"

"No. Just when you're in the pool."

With that, Raven turned her back to him. Silently Beast Boy slid off the bloodied fabric and stepped into the hot water.

"Okay."

Raven turned and lifted the discarded clothing and took it over to the cold water pool. She scrubbed at the fabric, massaging away the red and violet marks from the blood and wine. It was fresh, so it came out pretty easily. Then she hung the fabric on the wall so it could dry.

"Wait a minute…" said Beast Boy in realization. "That was my only outfit, wasn't it?" Raven nodded, looking over at him for the first time and blushing. He was lounging on the edge, arms pressed against the cold tile, exposing his upper chest.

"Dude! Now I have to wait for that to dry!" Raven shrugged.

"Better than it being bloody."

"True."

Glass clinked as Raven filtered through a series of brightly colored bottles of all shapes and sizes. She popped corks and smelled the contents, frowning as she put them back. She came away from the pile with a tall slender blue bottle and a small round purple one.

"What's all that?" Beast Boy asked.

"Shampoos, soaps, oils."

He almost flinched as she knelt down on the edge of the pool beside him. They had never been so… close. No. They HAD been so close… but it was always different. Never this… intimate?

"What are you doing?" he asked as her fingers ran through his damp hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

"Washing your hair, what do you think?"

"I can wash my own hair."

"Yes, but you can't see all the blood."

"Isn't this reversed?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the 'pet', shouldn't I be bathing you?"

Raven turned red at the thought. "No." She made it more of a demand then an answer. Beast boy leaned back to look up at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Aw…"

She frowned. "Do you want me to get soap in your eyes?"

With a smile, Beast Boy ducked under the water, shaking the suds loose from his hair. Then he came up with a large splash, pushing a wave of water towards the dry Raven. The now-soaked Raven frowned back at him, arms crossed over her chest. Suddenly she dove down, flinging a handful of water back at him.

In that brief moment, Beast Boy managed to snag her arm, yanking her roughly into the pool. With a gasp of surprise, the dark girl hit the water. While she was still stunned, Beast Boy pulled her to his chest, his arms snaking around her waist. Awkwardly he attempted to undo her corset.

"Don't you dare!" Raven objected when she snapped back to the current events. Heavily she bashed Beast boy with a fist. Even so, the corset popped off, leaving Raven in a long heavy purple dress.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" Beast Boy shrugged.

"What? It's not like I undressed you completely. I mean… overall this is highly unfair. Here I am, in the nude, and you have on how many layers now? Three? Four?"

Raven frowned as she leaned back in an attempt to distance herself from Beast Boy's bare chest.

"Four." she said. He smiled and leaned forward to close the space Raven had created.

"Do you think that's fair?" Raven nodded sharply, knocking droplets from her wet hair.

"Yes. I do."

"Well, I don't."

"I don't care. I am NOT undressing."

It was bad enough to pull a move like this, but wait a minute. This was Beast Boy. He'd be bold because he's the kind of person who didn't think about the consequences. His lips pressed against hers and for that moment she thought she couldn't bear it. She was trying very hard to ignore his nudity… to ignore that look in his eye… All that was lost now.

She returned the kiss, pressing herself against him softly. He pulled away, just barely, their lips still only centimeters apart.

"That's not fair." Raven objected in a soft whisper. "None of this is fair."

Beast Boy flashed a fanged grin. "You're right. You should be nude, too."

"You're evil, you know that?"

"This coming from the Princess of Hell." He kissed her again before she could respond, softly, blissfully. The 'Princess of Hell' glared back at him, frowning.

"Turn around and no peeking." She ordered and Beast Boy obeyed with a triumphant grin. Raven pulled off all of her remaining layers. He heavy purple layer was followed by a flowing black layer, which was then followed by a white slip and her undergarments. Then she ducked into the steaming water, trying to hide her exposed chest as she pondered putting her undergarments back on.

"Okay." she muttered, a blush on her face and in her voice. Beast Boy turned around and Raven tossed her arms over her chest just in case.

"If it makes you feel better, you can turn around." Beast Boy offered and Raven did, though slightly offended that he felts SHE needed HIS permission to do so. Soon she felt his fingers massaging their way through her hair. She relaxed and let him was her hair, no matter how odd it was. He tensed slightly on the occasions where his fingers brushed her neck.

Such contact sent shivers rushing through her spine and she wasn't quite sure whether such shivers were good or bad. After a while, it became pretty obvious that Beast Boy was no longer washing her hair for the sake of washing her hair. His fingers played with the loose soapy strands for the sake of touching.

"Can I rinse now?" Raven asked upon realizing it.

"Uh, oh, yeah, sure." Beast Boy responded as she jolted him back to reality. Raven ducked under the water and let the suds float up from her hair. When she rose up, Beast Boy's arms encircled her waist, pulling her back into him. Skin met skin and Raven tensed with the rush of feelings. Softly he rested his face in the crook of her neck, his lips brushing the soft skin there briefly. Despite the warm water, Raven shivered.

"Beast Boy…" she began, but he cut her off.

"I know. I know. I'll let you go in a moment." His lips moved against her neck and a soft noise left her throat before she could stop it. Carefully she relaxed into him, softly, slowly, leaning back into the solid warmth of his chest. Something inside her told her to let go, to let this happen, and she listened. When Beast Boy went to let go, she stopped him, holding her arms so that they remained pressed against her.

"Just a little longer." she whispered. He kissed her neck softly, letter another noise escape her throat.

"As long as you want."

He rubbed his cheek against hers like a cat before nuzzling into her lavender scented hair. Raven let him. She just watched the steam swirl up from the water. The steam looked like dancers or faeries, soaring and twisting through the air before loosing all form and fading away. His lips touched the skin of her neck again. Raven's breath left slowly and shakily in one long exhale. The steam stirred and danced with quicker tumbles, spinning upward. His teeth nipped carefully at her neck wand she closed her eyes with a sharp intake of breath.

She pulled away from him, pressing her back against the tiled edge of the pool instead. Her eyes flashed scattered emotions so rapidly that Beast Boy couldn't catch just one. He immediately decided that the best course of action was an apology.

"I'm sorry, Rae, did I hurt you?"

Raven shook her head, hugging her chest.

"No… It's not that."

"Ah." he said, to acknowledge that he understood. Then he pulled her from the wall, hugging her to his chest.

"It's okay, Rae. I'm not going to force you to do any thing you don't want to do."

Raven shook her head again, nuzzling into him.

"That's not it, either. I _want_ to. That's what scared me."

He pulled her away so he could look into her eyes, stroking her cheek patiently.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Rae. You powers have been restrained, remember?"

Raven nodded. He traced her jaw bone with his finger.

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Raven dropped her eyes down, shaking her head lightly.

"I don't know."

He lifted her shin lightly, kissing her lips gently.

"You know what I think? I think you're only afraid because it's what you're used to. It's kind of a hard habit to break, that's all."

Raven nodded, stunned. He kissed her again, only a little more passionate this time.

"How can I make you feel safe?"

Raven lifted a hand to his cheek, staring into his emerald eyes.

"Promise me something."

"Anything." he whispered, touching her hand with his own so he held her hand to his cheek.

"Promise me that you will always love me and be there for me."

"Always."

"To have and to hold."

"To love and to cherish."

"In sickness and in health."

"'til death to us part."

"And after?"

"And after."

He smiled, gazing down at her with love. "Now may I kiss the bride?"

Raven smiled back. "Where's the ring?"

"I'm afraid I don't have one right now."

Their faces drifted closer, their voices getting softer as the distance between them closed.

"No ring, no kiss."

"Can't we make one exception?"

"Maybe just one."

He kissed her once more and she returned it, her arms wrapping around his neck lightly, embracing the moment. He pulled away, just slightly, so his lips dances across her as he spoke.

"Is this an engagement?"

She pressed her lips into his before responding, pulling back only as much as Beast Boy had.

"Where's the ring?"

He laughed and hugged her, snuggling into her.

"I'll tell you what, After we save the Earth from total destruction and Hellfire, then I'll get you a ring."

"Sounds good."

He kissed her neck, trailing his fingertips down her spine.

"Good."

She pressed herself into him, her lips pressing into his. He returned the kiss with more fire and more passion. She traced her fingernails down from his neck, passing over his shoulder blades and across his spine. He pressed her into the wall of the pool , an animal instinct kicking in. Soon he was kissing her differently. It became hard to tell whether he was kissing her or trying to devour her. She moaned into him, her hands still on his back.

Voices echoed in the back of Raven's mind as her eyes fluttered shut. They were voices that she didn't know. She felt him trailing hisses down her neck, over her collar bone…

Beats Boy's heart rang in her ears a long with her own. She drifted away, she just didn't know where she drifted to. Slowly the feeling of his against her skin faded, everything faded. She was… somewhere else.

The voices got louder. A woman, a man, and a child… Scenes flashed before her eyes like a video in fast forward. The family played outside, the child running to the forest on the edge of the field. A tropical forest…

"Don't go too far, Garfield!"

A green monkey…

Screaming…

Beeping…

"No human has ever survived this disease."

"But animals have."

"You don't think…"

Needles…

No…

"It'll be okay, Garfield. You'll be okay. After this, you won't be sick any more. I promise."

Raven's nails dug into Beast Boy's back as she snapped out of it. He was over her, in her… Her back arched off of the ground, her nails digging deeper. His mouth closed over hers, muffling all sound.

He lifted her head off of the ground, kissing her and nipping at her neck with an animalistic growl that rose like rolling thunder from his throat, vibrating through her like a tuning fork. She felt his heart beat in her chest, beating along side her own as if they were in some kind of endless race…

Pressure began to build, like someone stretching a rubber band. She cried out, pressing herself into him as if they could merge into one being. His teeth trailed away from her neck, finding themselves in her shoulder. The pressure snapped and rolled over her, flowed from her. She gave one final cry, forming one word without thought.

"Garfield!"

Beast Boy's eyes went wide. In that one moment that his name rang across the room he felt his past collapse upon him. Every smile, every laugh, and every tear caved in on top of him, crushing him. Then it was over.

Beast Boy rolled to the floor so he wouldn't crush Raven and she rolled onto him, snuggling into his chest with a content smile. For a moment everything seemed to freeze in that one happy moment.

Then, when the rush began to fade away and time started again, Beast Boy spoke up.

"So… why did you call me that?"

"Hmm?" Raven asked, nuzzling into his chest lovingly.

"Garfield. Why did you call me Garfield?"

She tossed an arm over his chest so she could support herself as she propped herself up on the other arm.

"Because it's your name."

"I didn't tell you that."

Raven smiled. The confused look on his face was so cute!

"Did I? I don't remember telling you that…"

Raven took a deep breath. How was she going to explain this? Oh, don't worry, I only accidentally fell into your memories and watched your pre-green childhood in fast forward, that's all.

"It was an accident… but…"

She tapped his forehead.

"But I guess I kind of did hear it from you."

Beast Boy wrapped an arm around her and sat up, pulling her into his lap and nuzzling her cheek happily. She nuzzled him back, hugging him until she felt something sticky…

She looked at her fingers and found blood. From his back?

"Turn around. Let me see your back."

He turned and Raven traced her fingers over ten neat little crescent-shaped marks and cursed.

"What?"

"I can't heal them."

Beast Boy shrugged. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt."

"Really?"

Beast Boy turned back around , dragging her back into his lap.

"I don't know, does that bite on your shoulder hurt?"

"You didn't…" Raven turned to examine her shoulder, which was very difficult, but she did see the bloody edge of what seemed to be teeth marks. She traced her finger over the mark, looking at the blood that came up with it.

"You did!" She smacked his chest. "You bit me!"

"You clawed me!"

They fell into each other, laughing. Laughing turned into splashing, which ended with them both in the water again. That eventually led to more splashing and laughing. By the time they were all done, Rave was half-asleep in Beast Boy's arms, snuggling into his chest.

"I love you, Beast Boy." she mumbled drowsily as he lifted her from the water.

"I love you, too, Raven." Beast Boy responded, carefully carrying her over to the door.

'Always?" Raven asked, smiling.

"Always." he responded, setting her down onto the bed before snuggling in himself.

((WOOHOO! My first lemon! Tell me what you think, PLEASE! I'm so proud of me! Not too gross I hope? Cute an fluffy enough, right? Please? Review!))


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

Disclaimer: People who sue other people are like school yard bullies. They want lunch money. Even though they already have some. And we don't. All we have are stories, and imagination! Starts getting emotional… crying and all And they try to take that away by ruining our childhood vision of a pure, simple, and happy world. Why did they take that world away from me? WHY? WHY?

A/N: Wow! I have officially created a new fan fic term! Lemon Pie. A Fluffy Lemon. W00t! I shall now go and set this new Lemon Pie trend! I shall spread the technique to the masses! Then shall be full of Lemon Pie! MUWAHAHA! It's contagious!

Oh, and the fight scene later on… I wrote it while listening to Gravity of Love by Enigma, so if you have that song, it's really neat to listen to during the fight. Though I think the song is a little to short… depending on how fast you read. That is all.

-Chapter Thirty Four-

Raven brushed her hair idly, more for the comforting motion then to actually brush her hair. Beast Boy came up behind her, encircling her waist with his arms and nuzzling her cheek with his own.

"Goooooooood morning, beautiful."

Raven set the brush down, sinking into the warmth of Beast Boy.

Today was the day.

"Beast Boy…" She said it distantly, snapping out of wherever she was to turn in his arms and face him. "We're going home today, Beast Boy." When she said it, it didn't sound happy. It sounded like she was mourning something…

"Really?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "No, not really. I just felt like saying it."

"That's great, Rae!"

He hugged her to him tightly, excited. Raven didn't seem excited. Beast Boy noticed, pulling back a bit, his hands firmly on her shoulders. He gazed into her eyes, his smile quickly fading.

"What's wrong, Rae?"

Raven looked away. She couldn't stand to look up into his eyes. She knew he could see into her eyes and at the moment, she didn't want that.

"Promise me something."

Beast Boy's hands dropped. "Nothing good ever begins that way."

Raven looked back up at him. "You can either promise, or I'll command it of you."

"You're coming home, right, Rae? You are coming back, right?"

"I'll try."

"No! No, you will!"

Raven pressed a finger to his lips, closing some of the space between them. "Look. We're going to pretend we're going to the ritual, okay? Then, at the last minute, when everyone's there expecting us… Then we make a break for it. Now… I overheard Trigon talking… He wanted to wait until the ceremony, when we were supposed to be distracted. This means he'll probably be there."

Beast Boy shook his head away from her fingers.

"Raven!"

Raven grabbed his chin, pressing a finger from her other hand to his lips again. "Shush. Just listen to me, okay? If he is there… If we do run into Trigon… Promise me that you'll run for the portal, okay? No fighting and no looking back. If anyone should fight him, it should be me."

She let him go, watching as the tears began to sparkle in his eyes.

"Rae… No. I can't let you fight him alone… Rae…"

"Just promise me!" Tears streamed down her face. Hurt, Beast Boy stepped forward, wiping the salty liquid from her face.

"It'll be okay, Rae. We'll get through this, just like we've gotten through everything else."

Raven nodded, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Just promise me…" She said, her words muffled. He stroked her back comfortingly and she relaxed into him. The tears leaked from her eyes without sobs.

"All right. I promise."

"Thank you."

She pulled away, a bit awkwardly. After wiping away the last of her tears, she took a deep breath and turned back to the dresser.

"Well… I should be getting ready."

Beast Boy nodded, Raven watched him in the mirror. For a moment, everything was so tense, so sad… like they were both mourning a loss that hadn't happened yet…

A loss which both of them were sure would happen.

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When Raven stepped out of the bathroom, Beast Boy's jaw hit the floor.

The outfit she was wearing seemed to be made of something with life. It moved and flowed… but most of all it seemed to shimmer all shades of color and light. Her hair seemed to be spun like the silken thread of spider webs, only spun from pure amethyst. Her eyes seemed to be cut from the same stone, set in the pale marble that was her skin.

"Wow…"

Golden jewelry jingled as she stepped, the little bells on her anklet tinkling distinctly. She quickly closed the distance between them, their noses touching by the time she stopped. Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, kissing her, a kiss which Raven returned fully.

"You look beautiful."

Raven smiled, saying the only thing she could think to say…

"Thanks."

A silence followed, where they just looked into each other's eyes. The moment seemed to last both forever and not long enough. They kissed one last time before Raven broke the silence.

"Ready?"

Beast Boy nodded, emerald eyes set.

"Yeah. Let's go."

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Black cloaks hung in a circle, like grim statues decorating the site of the ritual. Of course, there were living… things… under the cloaks, but they were all so still and the cloaks covered everything…

Beast Boy gulped, squeezing Raven's hand.

"Relax. We're not going through with it, remember?" Raven hissed. Beast Boy nodded, but stepped closer to her anyway.

"We'll run on three."

Some one began talking in a language Beast Boy didn't understand.

"One… Two…"

She squeezed his hand like he was squeezing hers.

"Three."

The halls were empty as they ran. Empty, but not silent. The only thing louder than the bells around Raven's ankle was the sound of their hearts thundering down the hall. No one was following them, but it felt like they were running from death itself. They were running from everything they had been through on Earth or in Hell… They were running to a new beginning.

The door towered above them. Beast Boy looked up and gulped. Raven reached out slowly, touching the door, then pressing on it…

With a loud creak the door budged. Slowly it moved, swinging open stiffly. On the other side of the room was the portal, shimmering and swirling with an overall appearance of the solution in a bubble wand.

Before them… stood Trigon.

Raven gave Beast Boy's hand one final squeeze, then let it go.

"Remember what you promised."

"Rae…"

Raven stepped forward, eyes locked on Trigon's figure as he turned and gave an amused smile. Beast Boy stepped into the room, creeping around the edge, watching Raven carefully.

Trigon laughed. Her resolve to fight him did not need to be spoken.

"You would fight me, when I have control over your powers?"

Beast Boy pressed himself into the wall. Trigon was directly in front of the portal. He'd never get to it without running into the fight. Raven didn't speak, only stared at her father. Trigon laughed again.

"You amuse me, daughter, but last I checked, you had somewhere to be."

Beast Boy watched her, not even thinking about the portal any more. He didn't care what he had promised her. She couldn't do this alone. He'd never let her do this alone.

"Ah, never mind it. If you want to fight, fine. I'll give you a fight. I'll even be… somewhat fair."

Raven felt her power surging back into her, flowing through her veins. She turned to Beast Boy, who stepped forward. He couldn't leave her. He had to stand with her. Stand with her and fight. Her hand went out, palm facing him, almost like a threat. A shield surrounded him, tinting the entire scene in front of him so all he could see were shapes outlined in white. His hands touched the shield.

No.

Raven turned back to Trigon. They both just stood there, as if mentally preparing themselves. Raven's eyes burned and the power in her backed them, rolling furiously like boiling water inside her. Everything in her urged her to fight.

Beast boy beat against the black shield wildly, his eyes watering as he watched through the solid black screen.

"Raven!" he cried, feeling something well up inside of him. He had to protect her. He had to protect Raven. His muscles shifted, bulging, stretching. This green fur sprouted along his skin as it strained against his internal changes. His teeth grew, white and pointed. His eyes narrowed. Only one thing echoed through his mind. Protect Raven. The Beast tossed it's head back and unleashed an inhuman howl.

Raven glanced over at Beast Boy, seeing the Beast instead. In that one moment, Trigon decided to strike first. His fist crashed into her like a wrecking ball into paper and she cried out in pain and shock as her shoulder shattered. The crack of her ribs in addition to the shoulder snap made horrible noises that echoed across the room. The Beast wailed as Raven hit the floor, blood oozing from her split shoulder in agonizing streams.

The female Titans used her other arm to help herself up, shaking with the pain. Trigon laughed as if he had already won. Indeed, it did seem that he had. With one hit, he had caused so much damage… What would another do? He swiped his hand backwards simply, as if shooing away a fly, tossing Raven into the far wall. Her forehead cracked against the stone. She cried out again, collapsing to her knees. The world was spinning and her stomach heaved.

Hot blood rolled from the cut on her forehead, oozing into her eyes. She wiped at it, tried to get it to go away, but still it oozed, thick and sticky, down into her violet eyes. It stung and burned as her vision went red.

"Giving up? Already?" Trigon hissed happily, obviously amused.

Red burned Raven's vision… Then black. She couldn't see! She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. Nothing. She shut them again, tightly. Still she felt them burning and tears tinted pink dripped down her cheeks.

_Blood._

Her mind screamed. She screamed.

_Blood._

Raven felt around the floor, stumbling. She grabbed a rock from the floor, grasping it tightly, rolling it in her hand until she found the sharpest part of it. She encased it in dark energy. Aura… she expanded her aura, feeling out the room, feeling for where he was. Trigon was not easy to miss. His hulking mass and his pulsing evil aura were vivid in Raven's mind. That was all she needed.

With her powers, she hurtled the rock at him, into his flesh, hitting some part of him before digging, twisting, burying she sharp edge through his skin. She heard him hiss in annoyance, feeling the blood.

_Blood._

Raven stood shakily as Trigon growled, preparing what would most certainly be his final attack. The Beast howled. She turned to Trigon blindly, opening her eyes to see only the red that stung them.

_Blood._

Raven took a deep breath, feeling the power pulse and rise within her, building with unseen force, bubbling up inside her from the ground, the air, and from a burning core within her. Something rushed through her, some unknown energy rushed through her.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

Trigon's red scaly skin busted, cuts springing up all over his body. The blood boiled from the cuts, burning his skin with a heat unlike the fire to which he was immune. It was a horrible, agonizing burn. It was a holy burn. His own blood burned like holy water as it streamed down his skin and he screamed in agony for the last horrid moment of his life.

"If I die, you come with me, DAUGHTER!"

He tossed a desperate claw out to her, attacking her, delivering one final blow, hoping it would be the final blow for them both. One sharp thick black point from one burning blood-stained claw was all it took. The Beast gave a final wail of agony, crashing to it's knees, back to Beast Boy before the knees touched the ground. His hands touched the flickering shield, his eyes connected with the scene.

That one nail not only pierced through Raven's stomach, but it also penetrated the wall behind her. Red tears streamed from Raven's blood burnt blind eyes as her father impaled her. She screamed, or stared to, but she was stopped by blood that rose into her throat. The claw fell from her torn body as Trigon the Terrible died. The dark Titan hit the ground, gasping, coughing, blood oozing from her mouth onto the already blood covered stone floor. The shield holding Beast Boy flickered one last time, vanishing.

"Oh God… RAVEN!" He ran to her, slipping in the blood, falling to his knees beside her. He pulled her to him, rocking her back and forth, rocking himself back and forth, trying to find some comfort.

"Please… Rae… Don't die. God… Rae… Why Rae? Why didn't you just let me help you? I could've helped you…"

Raven looked up at him, but didn't see him. Her pale fingers reached up and touched his cheek, brushing away a tear that sat there as another hit her skin.

"The portal…" she choked and Beast Boy shook his head.

"It's closed."

Raven turned her head to the side, away from Beats Boy, coughing blood to the floor so she could take another breath.

"I'll see you…" she coughed once more, turning back to him. "at the Tower."

Her hand fell from his cheek, hitting the ground with a cold, limp, thud.

"No…"

The ground shifted, then vanished.

"NO!"

It all melted into darkness.

"RAVEN!"

Then it returned, different. The floor was metal, the room was bright.

"RAAVEEN!"

The Tower. Beast Boy saw moving shaped through the tears. People. The Titans.

"Friend Beast Boy! Friend Raven!"

"Oh my God…"

"I'll go call 911, try to get Raven to the roof."

"I'll take Raven, Starfire, help Beast Boy. Get him a blanket I think he's in shock!"

"Come, friend Beast Boy. I shall make you a drink of heated chocolate with the mellow of marsh of which you prefer."

"Come on B, go with Starfire. I'll handle Raven. B? B, can you hear me? You're going to have to let her go… We need to take her to the roof."

"The helicopter's on it's way."

"Come on, B… help us out here. Are you listening? B?"

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

((Phew About time I finished that! It only took mom going to the doctor's office for me to get enough time! She's only been gone 1 hour and I wrote all this. See how busy she's been keeping me? I swear it's not my fault! Mom has a shattered ankle, and she's an independent woman with obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD… so it's such a pain trying to keep her from stumbling around and hurting herself even more. :P So ha! I have my reasons! REVIEW! Of course, I already know you will review because everyone's going to freak out and have a heart attack. Hey, I did warn you, didn't I? I did put 'character death' into the warning. But I also promised you a happy ending, did I? I still have many a many of a chapter left to go. This is far from over. But, hey, you guys will stay with me even if I go to chapter 100, right?))


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way shape or form, the rights to the Teen Titans. This means that the Teen Titans are not mine. If they were mine, this would be happening in the series, wouldn't it? 'Cause this is what I'd do if I owned them! Why would I waste my time writing a totally awesome story like this by not making it a reality on the TV show? That doesn't make sense! So no, obviously, the Teen Titans are not mine to claim. So there.

A/N: Wow. I feel special. I'm getting reviews from authors who's stories I read ((and love))! Sweet! Keep reviewing people…

Oh and if it wasn't clear enough before… That final flat line beep… That means Raven is dead. I don't think I made that clear enough. So let me make it clear now. She's dead. Raven is dead. There. Now… Read and you shall find out what happens to dead Raven.

-Chapter Thirty Five-

Raven opened her eyes. The world she found was most certainly not her own. She found herself in something similar to fetal position and she unfolded her legs. They went beneath her without hitting a floor. What was this place? It had no light, no gravity, nothing other than herself. Up and down didn't even exist, and neither did light or dark. It was an odd place in between it all, where nothing but herself seemed to exist.

She tried to think. How did she get here? What was her name? Where was she from? Not here, that was sure.

She stretched a hand in front of her, looking at her hand. Gold bracelets dangled from her wrist and her long pale fingers were tipped with fingernail polish-less finger nails. With a thought, black energy surrounded the hand, swirling and encompassing it.

"RAAVEEN!"

Raven. That was her name. And that voice… Beast Boy… Beast Boy!

It all came back to her in a flood and she panicked, spinning around to check the place again. Nothing. No doors, no floor… no Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy!" She cried back to the voice. There was no response. What had happened? She remembered up until the ceremony… they went to the ceremony… they were going home… She held his hand, he squeezed hers, she squeezed his… and then…

Raven closed her eyes, squeezing them as far shut as they'd go.

Then what?

Her eyes snapped open. Red. Burning. Blood. Trigon. The Beast. Pain…

"Please, don't die…"

Dead.

Raven's hand went to her mouth.

"Oh my God."

She was dead.

Panic struck her. Had Beast Boy gotten home safely? Who was ruling Hell now? Which Hell would she get sent to? For, surely she was getting sent to Hell. You don't spend your life as a Half Demon Princess of Hell and go to Heaven to become an Angel. It just didn't work that way. Tears welled up in her eyes. A light appeared in front of her, a light which shouldn't have existed. Raven began to reach out to it. It was warm, comforting… Assuring…

NO!

Raven snapped her hand back as if something stung her. She closed her eyes, shaking the thoughts of comfort from her head. A trick. It was all a trick. The light at the end of the tunnel. Her portal to Hell.

"I am NOT falling for that end of the tunnel CRAP! You'll have to come out here and DRAG me to the afterlife!"

She tried to plant herself somewhere, tried to get a firm hold, but that was impossible in a place with no gravity or floor. Dragging her would be an easy task. The light shifted… then vanished.

And then, before her, appeared Death itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

"Clear!"

Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

"Clear!"

Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

"Clear!"

Beast Boy clutched the blanket closer to his body, his eyes fixated on the white wall in front of him. They had already taken her back. He wanted to see her. They wouldn't let him see her. Tears rolled down his cheeks silently. Cyborg tossed a comforting arm over the changeling's shoulder, not trusting himself to speak.

"Clear!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Hours passed as 10 o'clock turned to 12... A new day had begun.

A doctor entered with papers. Robin went to talk to him.

"We're going to have to have you sign these papers before we can do anymore. They just state that you're giving us permission to operate on Miss Roth as needed."

Robin took the pen and the clipboard.

"Raven." Beast Boy stated, and everyone paused to look at him. It was the first word he had spoken since he appeared in the Tower. He looked up at the doctor with teary eyes.

"Her name is Raven, not 'Miss Roth'. I know what you're doing, being all formal like that. It's not about manners, it's about disconnection. You're calling her 'Miss Roth' because that's just a name, just a title. Raven is a hero. Raven is a person, a pure hearted person. Raven has saved more lives than you ever will and she's still a teenager. Her name is Raven. Call her Raven. Get connected, know her, and SAVE her. It's not 'Miss Roth' that you would be losing. If you fail, the world will loose a hero. We will all loose Raven."

Beast Boy was standing, hospital blanket clutched tightly around his body. Robin looked back to the clipboard, signing it. The doctor and Beast Boy stared at each other for sometime before the doctor turned back to Robin to accept the clipboard.

"We'll do what we can."

"That's not good enough! That's the same DAMN thing you say to everyone else you have no hope for!"

Beast Boy stepped forward, looking up to the man. The doctor looked down at him.

"My little girl's name is Hannah. She just turned 9 two weeks ago. If it weren't for Raven, she would never have made it to 8. Now believe me when I say this. We will do all we can to save Raven. Until then, I suggest you go home. Raven will go directly to the OR and the to ICU. You're not allowed to visit at either place and there's no telling how long it will take. There's no point in you staying here. Go home. Get some rest. We'll call you if her condition changes."

With that, the doctor left. As he suggested, so did the Titans.

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"You're Death?" Raven resisted the urge to laugh at the little kid that stood in front of her. The girl looked about 7 years old with burning blue eyes and long curly black hair that seemed to stand out oddly in the absence of light. Her purple and black lacey dress didn't help either. The little kid came complete with velvet black cloak with silver and amethyst clasp and a little kid-sized scythe.

"No, Santa Claus." Death said, rolling her eyes. "I am so tired of hearing that! Little young to be Death, aren't you? Is that a scythe or a teddy bear? I decide to try a different form and everyone laughs at me. So I got sick of a being a freaking skeleton, okay?"

With a hand on her hip, Death continued.

"Now… Why must you be so difficult? Drag you? I can't DRAG you, Raven."

Raven crossed her arms.

"Then I guess I'm staying here."

Death shook her head. "Look, kid. If I leave you here, you become a lost soul."

"You're calling me kid?"

Death raised an eyebrow. "What? I've been around ever since the creation of life. Don't I have the RIGHT to call you kid?"

Raven shrugged.

"Now, are you going to stay here for the rest of eternity, or are you just going to follow me?"

"Forgive me for preferring being here than in Hell."

"Hell? What makes you think you're going to Hell?"

"Hell-O! Demon!"

"Half demon."

"Still demon."

Death sighed and took a seat… or at least it looked like she took a seat.

"Honey, you're a first. Never before has a demon, even a half demon, become a superhero. Never before has anyone with demon blood saved so many lives. You are a very special case indeed. I've heard… now this is just what I've heard… But I have heard that the council is willing to forget your demon blood altogether."

Death smiled before picking at her nails with a scythe. Raven snorted.

"Look, I can't tell you their decision. You just have to accept your death and your afterlife, no matter where you may go."

"I'm not risking it."

Death gave a noise of frustration and flopped backwards in annoyance.

"Quit being so stubborn! You're dead. That's it. Now move on. Your mother wasn't this difficult about it."

Raven perked up, looking at Death in shock. Death cursed as she pricked her finger with the scythe. She sucked on the injury, but it was healed before it reached her mouth.

"Where did she go?"

Death sighed. "I'm not supposed to say."

Raven stood… or thought she stood… and moved… somehow… over to Death.

"Tell me."

"Heaven."

"And Azar?"

Death sighed again, thinking about how to phrase it.

"It was difficult… very difficult… She wasn't evil, she wasn't good, she just was. So, due to her religious preference, she was reincarnated."

"What if… What if I did go to Heaven? Is it all just clouds and worshiping God, because I don't think I could stand that for all eternity."

Death shrugged. "I'm the bus, not the tour guide. I guess it depends on religious preference. Heaven, Nirvana, Summerland…" Raven shook her head.

"I want to go home… to the Tower." Death sighed, shaking her head.

"Nothing I can do I guess, but consult the council."

With that, Death struck the scythe against the "floor" that she seemed to be standing on and it made a clicking noise. With that clicking noise she vanished.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The call came three days later. Raven was stable, but not conscious. Even so, the Titans all packed into the T-Car and went to visit her.

The blank white covers stretched to her shoulders, tucked in over her immobile body. Her hair was combed and neatly fell over the pillows. Her eyes were shut so gently that it was hard to imagine life behind the lids. Even her skin was paler than usual, giving her a remarkable resemblance to a corpse, painted pretty and laid to rest. The only sign of life was the gentle and subtle rise and fall of her chest under the bleached blankets, but even that was aided by the oxygen mask that covered her nose and mouth.

Her arms rested on top of the blankets, an IV in her arm. The monitors beeped slowly, steadily. Beast Boy slumped into a chair, staring at her motionless form blankly. Cyborg made a noise of interest, staring at the monitors in his arm.

"What is it?" Robin asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I compared the scan I ran while she was at the Tower to a scan I did just now… and I got some pretty strange results…"

"Strange like…" Robin asked, urging him to continue.

"Well, the scan from Raven at the Tower three days ago shows shattered shoulder and upper arm, approximately three cracked ribs, torn tissue on her forehead as well as torn tissue that went completely through her abdomen, meaning she was impaled as Beast Boy said. However, now the torn tissue does not even pierce any major organ and the shoulder and ribs have repaired completely with no scar tissue. It's like the wounds were never there. Or, at least, no to the extent that they were before. Even when she's healed before, she's left scar tissue. It's just… really odd, that's all. Even for Rae."

Starfire smiled upon hearing this. "But it is weird in a good way, yes? Our friend is healing wonderfully, yes?"

Cyborg nodded, unsure. Beast Boy touched her cheek running his fingers up and down the smooth curve of flesh.

"Hey, Rae. It's me. Beast Boy."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Guess what?" Raven spun around, coming face to face with Death, who was grinning.

"What?"

"You…" Death put a fingertip on Raven's chakra. "get to be a guardian!" Death clapped her hands together, holding the scythe in the crook of her arm.

"Guardian? Like, a guardian angel?"

Death blinked, then laughed.

"A guardian half-demon! Oh, this is my favorite case ever! You're going in the history books, honey. The first and most likely last half-demon guardian ever!"

Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

"Guardian to whom?"

Death shot Raven a 'are you serious?' look.

"Uh… Beast Boy? Duh."

Raven's arms dropped and she smiled. Finally, a part of being dead she didn't mind.

"So… now all you have to do is get there."

"What?"

"Ya know, get there. Teleport or something. I don't know. All I know is that this bus doesn't go in that direction. Sorry."

Raven nodded. Teleport. She could do that.

"Hey Rae. It's me, Beast Boy. I know you can hear me. Don't ask me how, but I just know. It's Monday, August 8th. It's been 3 days. I'm sorry I didn't visit you sooner. They wouldn't let me."

Raven looked up at Death, who was lounging in the air above her head.

"They who?" Death shrugged.

"What do you think I am? A God? I'm HERE, not there. I can only be at one place at a time."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Am I the only one who's died in 3 days?"

Death gave an amused laugh.

"Hell, no! This place has no time, so it really doesn't matter how long I spend with you. It's been 3 Earth days since you've died. Have you noticed? I don't think so! So go ahead, take your time. I'm enjoying a little vacation."

Raven took a deep breath and began to summon the strength to teleport.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

She opened her eyes. Nothing. Death grinned, amused. Out of no where popped a bowl of popcorn. Raven glared up at Death when a kernel hit her head.

"You're not making this any easier."

Death laughed.

"Of course not. Why would I? This is going to be the best show I'm going to see for a few more centuries."

With a growl, Raven closed her eyes to try again.

"Hey, Rae. It's me again. It's the 10th. I'm sorry I didn't visit yesterday, but Plasmus was attacking downtown… well, you understand, right? Same old, same old. After Trigon and Hell and everything, Plasmus was a breeze. Crime fighting has gotten a lot easier. The doctors say you're healing pretty well. Please, wake up soon."

Raven stood, or tried to stand, and looked up at Death.

"They don't know?"

Death gave her a very frustrated glare.

"How am I supposed to know? Now are you leaving or not?"

"I'm trying!"

Raven crossed her legs and closed her eyes.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Death rolled her eyes and sighed. The bowl of popcorn vanished and the kid landed by Raven.

"Look. Don't try so hard. You're a ghost now. Things have changed. It takes a lot more energy to manifest yourself somewhere. Try a different approach. A less… controlled… approach."

Raven sighed. What the Hell was she supposed to do?

"Hey, Rae. It's the 11th. The others say that we should get on with our lives, but I just can't, ya know? They don't know I'm here. I had to tell you. The doctors will call us if you improve. So, until hen, I'm only going to visit when I can sneak out, okay? I'm sorry, Rae. Please, wake up soon."

Raven tried to lay back like Death, but only succeeding in doing spiraling unstoppable somersaults. Cursing, she flapped her arms trying to stop tumbling through space.

"Hey, Rae. It's the 29th. The doctors say you're almost fully healed. That means you'll wake up soon, right? I thought about bringing you flowers, so when you woke up you'd see something nice, but then I thought that it would be too much like…"

Raven stopped spinning, but she felt like she was upside down. She tried to lean forward.

"Well… So I got you a balloon instead. I know, it's childish…"

Raven groaned in frustration.

"Why can't I do this?"

The room flickered from darkness to a bright room with voices… then back to black.

Less controlled method…

Emotional method.

"Hey, Rae. It's September 18th. I know you're not going to like this, but I figured that I'd tell you so that when you woke up, it wouldn't be a surprise…"

Raven closed her eyes, trying to feel all of her emotions. The frustration of being dead… for it was a major inconvenience, the fear of going to Hell, the love she felt for Beast Boy, the longing she felt for home, and the determination she had to get there…

"You see, about a week ago, the doorbell rang and, well…"

The darkness around her faded. She was going home.

((Well? 12 pages, this chapter. Be happy. Worth the wait? The whole Death thing wasn't stupid, was it? I promise she won't be a ghost for the rest of the fic. Just for a few more chapters. Okay? Review please!))


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

Disclaimer! Ahhhhh! Ruuuun! Don't let it get you!

I do not own Teen Titans.

A/N: OMG! Okay… I'm SOOOO SORRY! Bows before her loyal audience and kisses their feet. Thank you for staying with me! Thank you for hanging on! You see… I just suddenly moved out of my mom's house and in with my dad and my mom doesn't like it and all of my progress on this chapter is on the other computer! Sorry! So now I must re-write! That GOD for my rough drafts!

-Chapter Thirty Six-

"Dude, do you know how many cows had to die to make this stuff you eat?" Beast Boy scolded, wielding a heavy black skillet.

"Not just cows, dude." Cyborg said, waving a package of bacon in his face. "I eat pigs, too."

Raven opened her eyes, feet touching the floor gently. The familiar feeling of home rushed over her. For a moment, everything seemed so… normal. Beast Boy and Cyborg were waging their famous breakfast war, both of them armed with very heavy skillets and packages of their chosen food. Robin was trying to explain something to Starfire while he sat beside her at the table. He was using very large and random hand movements, but his words were lost in the battle cries of the other two.

Beast Boy sagged into a seat at the counter, his skillet clinking to the tile harmlessly. He turned to the girl sitting beside him with a defeated grin. The girl lifted a tan hand to her lips to cover her mouth while she giggled, blue eyes sparkling.

Raven's eyes slowly went to the girl. She knew what she was going to see. She didn't want to see it. Still, her eyes landed on the blonde girl, who tucked her straight golden locks behind her ear, smiling at Beast Boy.

Raven felt the whole essence of her being shiver. All of the energy that was her seemed to boil in pure emotion that hurt like physical pain.

"Let's cook breakfast together today, Beast Boy." She leaned her cheek into her hand, running a finger around the edge of her skillet. "I want to learn how to cook tofu for you."

Raven felt her energy shiver, like she was cold but boiling at the same time. It hurt, she didn't think she'd be able to feel pain as a ghost, but it hurt like she was sick to her stomach. It hurt like ice was burning through her veins. It hurt like she had been shattered. It hurt like when she had died.

Raven stepped behind Terra, looking over her shoulder so she didn't see her. She leaned over so all she could see was Beast Boy. She pretended that it was her he was looking at, her he was smiling at. She saw that look in his eyes and remembered when he looked at her that way. But it wasn't her he was looking at.

Sadness rolled over her, through her, bubbling up in her like tears heated with the underlying fire of rage.

Cyborg slid his bacon onto a plate and headed to the table, leaving the oven open to Beast Boy. Terra stood and Raven jumped back. Still, it wasn't quick enough, and Terra passed right through her on her way up.

Still, Raven staggered back, eyes wide. Scenes flashed before her eyes like a premonition. Like she had read Terra's mind to find scattered memories, ripped and torn like a secret document that had been put through a shredder.

News broadcast… And old one… The stone Terra… A baseball bat… Stone and dust… Coughing… A mirror… A reflection… A reflection of Terra… _They'll never know…_

Terra took the skillet as she walked to the stove. Raven's watchful eyes followed her. Something wasn't right… Something seriously wasn't right…

She turned back to find Beast Boy standing, staring right at her. She glanced over both of her shoulders. No one. Did he see her? Excitement leaped through her as she walked closer to the counter, through the counter, reaching out gently, cautiously.

His eyes remained on her, wide in shock. She reached out, her fingers hovering right by his cheek, unsure as to whether or not she should touch him. She waited there hesitantly.

Beast Boy blinked, shaking his head. Nothing. It was nothing. Slowly he turned and walked over to the stove to join Terra before she burned his tofu eggs. It was nothing. Just a feeling… A really bad feeling…

Raven left her hand there, suspended in the air, watching Beast Boy walk away. She left it there as she watched him snake his arm around Terrra's waist. She left it there as Terra turned to face him. There her hand still hung as their faces drew closer…

She dropped it and turned away. She couldn't watch… Heartbroken. She was truly heartbroken.

But hey, whom was she kidding? She was dead. What did she expect him to do? Mourn her loss forever? So he had said always. So he had said 'til death and after. So what? In the end, it didn't really matter. Everything had just gone full circle, that's all. He started with Terra, now he returns to Terra.

Her eyes landed on the computer. A date. The computer would have the date. How long had she been dead? How long had it been since Beast Boy's last update?

December 10th. It was December?

She looked out the window for the first time since her arrival. Sure enough, white flakes were drifting slowly past the large window. Cold frost trimmed the glass' border.

She sighed, watching Beast Boy's reflection in the frosted window. He did kind of have the right to move on. Still, it hurt so badly. That and… Raven began to wonder. Did he still love her? When he was with her, did he still love Terra? What would he have done if Terra came back while he was with her? Would he have gone back to his first love or stayed with his second?

Frustrated and confused, Raven floated up, pulling her knees to her chest. That was when it hit her. Maybe he'd just forgotten about her. Maybe he'd forgotten about the promise he made. Maybe he just needed a little reminding. Raven wasn't herself anymore, but a pure emotion, a pure intention. She felt like her entire being was nothing but emotion, totally different from how she was before. And right now, her emotions were being irrational, yes. Rage, heartbreak, and love fought inside her, but they all wanted to do this. They all wanted to remind Beast Boy of what he had said. They all wanted him to remember.

"Hellooooo! Earth to Beast Boy!" Cyborg waved a large metal hand in front of Beast Boy's face, snapping him out of it.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah… what he said…"

Cyborg shook his head and Terra giggled.

"Are you okay, Beast Boy?" Robin asked.

"Yeah… fine."

Cyborg looked at Robin. "Dude, just because the green dude is daydreaming does not mean he is not okay." Then Cyborg turned to Beast Boy. "Although, it is unusual for you to just zone out like that. What's up?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "Really, it's nothing. Just… the snow. I was looking at the snow…"

"Well, maybe you should be looking at your plate. Finish your food and I might let you go outside and play in the cold stuff." Cyborg joked, but Beast Boy didn't laugh. Instead, he took a bite of his tofu eggs. Cyborg and Robin exchanged looks.

They wouldn't understand if he told them. If he told them, they'd laugh. And then, when it was certain that he was serious, they would send him for mental help. They didn't understand animal instincts. They'd never understand animal instincts. So, why would they believe him if he said he'd sensed… something… by the counter… by the computer… by the window… passing the table. He tensed. Going through the door. Down the hall… Safe. Whatever it was was gone, and for the moment they were safe.

It was several minutes before something else happened.

BOOM!

Beast Boy jumped up, while the others just jumped. Something had just crashed from down the hall… Slowly everyone stood. They didn't have to be told what to do. Cyborg ran a scan over the Tower.

"Nothing has been broken into and there doesn't seem to be any life forms or unidentified electronics in the Tower, but I think we should search anyway."

Robin nodded.

"Titans, go!"

Beast Boy gulped as they began to walk down the hall.

"Dude… I have serious reason to believe that our Tower is haunted."

Robin groaned.

"No, really!"

"I'm switching my mechanic eye function to heat sensors." Cyborg announced. Robin nodded to acknowledge that he had heard him.

"Beast Boy, now is not the time for your crazy theories."

Cyborg jumped, aiming his arm at something that no one else could see. He followed it, armed and ready, as it sped past him and then past Beast Boy.

Beast Boy cried out, feeling something cold brush by him. He stumbled backwards, his hand grabbing for the wall. Terra made it to him before the wall did. She supported him, worry darting across her features.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Cyborg replayed the footage, frowning.

"That's odd. I saw something that was human-sized… but it wasn't hot like any life form. Exactly the opposite. Whatever it was was…"

"Cold…" Beast Boy answered, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "I told you! This place is haunted!"

Cyborg whistled.

"It's something, all right. You're not going to like this, Beast Boy… but it just came from your room."

Robin turned to Beast Boy. "If this is a prank, I swear…"

Beast Boy pointed to his face. "Helloooo! Take note of the look of terror! Look of terror!"

Robin shook his head. Cyborg stepped aside.

"All right, B. It's your room. You open the door."

With a gulp Beast Boy reached forward. The air was tight with anticipation. Everyone leaned in, wanting to see what it was. Beast Boy's hand was shaking as he grabbed the door handle and pulled open the sliding door…

What he saw caused him to fall backwards in shock, his hand slapped tightly over his mouth.

((The end! Wooo, that took me forever! Sorry guys! Please review! PLEASE! Gets down on knees and begs. ))


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

Disclaimer: God, I am sooooo sick of this whole disclaimer thing! I mean, geesh. As if my fic isn't depressing enough, I have to give up all rights on top of it all! sighs Oh well. I do not own Teen Titans. So there. But you have to admit, this is a darn good story!

A/N: Weee! Here I go again!

-Chapter 37-

"Always" was scrawled across the wall in what seemed to be red marker… in the blank wall where his dresser should have been. Instead, his dresser was tossed to the floor, spilling even more clothes onto the already sloppy floor. The others stared at the wall, shocked. Terra turned to Beast Boy.

"Always? What does it mean, Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy shook his head, standing with help of his door frame.

Terra touched his shoulder, but Beast Boy shrugged it off.

"What's wrong, Beast Boy? What does this mean?"

Beast Boy didn't answer, but left, running down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him. If the Tower WAS haunted… and the ghost did this then… But it couldn't be! The doctor's said they'd call if her condition changed! They promised him! Why didn't he get a call?

Why didn't they tell him Raven was dead?

He didn't remember picking up the phone. He didn't remember dialing the number. It didn't matter. What mattered was the nurse that said: "May I help you?"

"I'm calling about a patient. Raven, Raven Roth. I'm Beast Boy, her team mate." Saying teammate hurt him. He was more, wasn't he? Was. He suddenly felt sick. He hit the ground, still holding the phone. What had he done?

"Hold one moment please."

The wait seemed to take forever. The others entered the room, looked at him, and surrounded him. He didn't notice. Terra touched his shoulder and he flinched away. Hurt, she stepped back. No one spoke, but they all waited. Watched and waited.

"Hello, sir?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Raven Roth is stable, but comatose. There has been no change in her activity since Early September."

Beast Boy nodded, only half-aware that the nurse couldn't see him.

"Okay, thank you."

He hung up, stunned. Raven was alive. Still alive. Then how did the message get on his wall? Who was haunting the Tower? It didn't make any sense? How could Raven be both dead and alive?

"Well?" Robin asked. "Care to explain?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "I can't. I don't know. I just don't know!"

Terra knelt beside him and reached for him, but he flinched away again.

"Can you at least tell us what's wrong? What did it mean?"

Beast Boy shook his head again. "It means I need to go see Raven."

He stood up and Terra stood with him, putting her hands on her hips.

"Her again? God, I thought you'd finally gotten over it."

Beast Boy looked at her over his shoulder, frowning.

"Like I got over you?"

Terra frowned, dropping her arms. "I told you, I understood. It was only healthy for you to get over it. I understand. You should do the same for her. If she wants what's best for you, she'll understand, too."

Beast Boy walked to the elevator that led to the door, his back to Terra. Without turning around, he responded.

"I need to do this, Terra. If nothing else but to heal, I need to do this."

And with that, he left.

* * *

Beast Boy sat in the chair, staring at Raven silently. It hurt so bad to see her like this. Her skin was the color of the sheets she was wrapped in, her hair a sharp contrast, sprawled out in her pillow like a violet halo.

What hurt him the most was the oxygen mask that covered her face and the lids that covered her eyes. He couldn't see her face at all. He touched her hand lightly, staring at what he could see of her face.

He remembered her after the battle, the blood streaming down her face and into her eyes, the sweaty and bloody tangles of hair that clung to her skin.

Tears welled up into his eyes. He rested his head on her chest, listening to the soft beating of her heart. It helped him keep his mind off of the images, kept him set in the present…

It helped him remember that she was alive.

Raven stood over him, she wanted to touch him, but she stopped when she saw her own body there on the hospital bed. Alive. She shook her head, she wanted to cry but couldn't. She should be alive. Why wasn't she alive?

"I'm so sorry, Rae. I broke my promise. They all said it was just like Terra, they all said I should move on. They said it wasn't healthy to cling like this…"

He laced his fingers with Raven's, clasping her hand lightly.

"But Terra came back, why can't you? You're going to wake up, right Rae?"

No. No, I'm not.

"I'm sorry I broke my promise, Rae. I really am. Forgive me?"

I forgive you. I shouldn't, but I will.

"I got your message, obviously. I don't know HOW you did it, exactly, but I got your message."

I know.

"How did you do it? How can you be alive here, but…"

I don't know Beast Boy. I just don't know.

"Well… anyway… I love you."

I love you, too.

"Please wake up soon."

I can't.

"Please…"

I wish I could, Beast Boy. Do you think I want to be this way?

"I miss you."

I miss you too… God if only I could talk to you… No, if only you could hear me… How can I make you hear me?

Finally, she touched him. Her fingers traced down his cheek. He jumped, spinning to face her, eyes wide.

"Raven?"

Yes. Please see me. I want you to see me.

He dropped Raven's hand and it slumped off the bed. Slowly he stood, still facing her. He reached out for her face. He was way off, so Raven stepped forward and to the side, into his hand. He jerked it back immediately with a gasp. So cold... Like ice. No, like death.

It hit her suddenly. Just out of nowhere, she knew how she could make him hear her. She might not be alive, but she still had her powers. She stepped forward once more, touching him again. He flinched, but didn't move away this time.

He was so cold. His entire body seemed to freeze. Something brushed his mind, swam through his mind. Something warm. Something comforting.

"Beast Boy?"

"Raven?"

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes…But… how?"

"I still have my powers."

"You're in my head."

"Basically, yes."

"I look crazy."

"When do you not?"

"Well, I guess I am crazy."

"I guess so."

"So… how…?"

"I don't know, Beast Boy. I really don't. I thought I was dead."

"I thought you were alive."

"I am… sort of… I guess..."

"I'm confused."

"So am I."

The coldness grew, spread, and consumed him. He steadied himself with the hospital bed, afraid that he couldn't stand without the support. What was happening?

"So… you heard me talking, huh?"

"All of it."

"And?"

"I forgive you… and I think there's something you should know."

He felt dizzy. Slowly the warmth slipped from his mind. He wanted to cry wait, but his vocal cord seemed to have frozen with the rest of him. The bed was no longer enough support. He fell to the ground, the world spinning around him.

Quickly Raven jumped back. What happened? What had she done?

The world faded as Beast Boy's eyes closed…

* * *

"He knows about her."

"We know."

"He was overwhelmed."

"Hurt, even."

"Almost killed."

"We know."

"What do you suggest We do?"

"We wait."

"Surely we can't keep her as his guardian."

"We make that decision."

"She's almost killed him. Isn't that the opposite of what she should do? She hasn't helped any!"

"She will. We know."

"We know everything, don't We?"

"Of course, We are the council. We know what has been and what will be."

"Then We knows what she will do."

"Yes."

"Why let her?"

"We cannot change what has been."

"But it hasn't happened yet!"

"It has happened and has yet to happen. Send in Death. We wish to speak with her."

((Wee! God, when I started this fic I didn't imagine that I'd be getting into a whole afterlife world creation! Yeesh. Death, the council, this other guy talking with the council, where will it end? Ah, who am I kidding? I love doing this! Well, it's almost 1 in the morning and I have work tomorrow, so I guess I should catch some Z's, huh? Hell, I don't use that phrase. I better hit the hay. Darn, I don't use that either. Okay. I'll just get some sleep, then!))


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

Disclaimer!

Yeah…

I don't own the Teen Titans.

But you knew that… right?

A/N: Weee! First chapter written on my old/new again computer! God, I didn't realize how much I missed this thing until I realized how much music I had! Yay! Music!

-Chapter 38-

"Yo, B? You okay?" Cyborg asked as Beast Boy's eyes fluttered open.

"Nnn?" he responded sleepily. "What… what happened?"

Cyborg shook his head. "No one has a clue. A nurse came by on a routine check on Raven and found you in the floor. It seemed like you had suffered from some kind of hypothermia or something. It was like you just lost all your body heat or something."

Beast Boy blinked, sitting up. "She must've used my body heat for energy…" He muttered, rubbing his head. "Like the heat in the Tower."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

Beast Boy looked over at him, a bit stunned. "What? Oh, nothing."

"Uh-huh…" Cyborg said suspiciously. Beast Boy laughed nervously.

Terra walked in with a couple of soda cans, handing Cyborg one.

"Here ya go. Oh, hey! You're up! How are you feeling?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "A bit headachy and a little dizzy, but fine overall."

Terra smiled and nodded. "That's good."

Beast Boy nodded as well. "Yeah…"

How was he going to tell her? How could he break up with her? What would he say? I'm sorry but I'm breaking up with you for my dead girlfriend? Ha!

No, he couldn't break up with her. Not now, at least.

* * *

"You needed to talk with me?"

"Yes. We have had several events of interest brought to our attention in the case of Raven Roth. I believe you know of which We speak?"

"I know of a death."

"And you know the nature of the death?"

"I know the cause of the death."

"And you know…"

"Look. I know who died, how they died, and wherever the Hell they are going as judged by… hmmm… oh yeah, the council. The council know what I know and what I do not know. The council knows what has happened, what will happen, and what has and has yet to happen. Why you are even trying to involve me into his, I cannot be sure. You already know your judgement on her. You know how this will all end. You knew that I'd say this before I even walked in. Yes, I know what she will do. A death will happen and a death will be reversed. What do you want me to do? Try and stop her?"

"We want the order of things to be restored. We want the rules to be enforced. That which will be reversed must be reversed."

"Everyone dies."

"No one comes back."

"Time will claim her."

"There must be consequences."

"There will be. That's life. Actions and consequences. The council knows that. The council knows what her consequences are."

"And one of those consequences will be caused by you, because We demand it."

Death frowned, hand on her hip.

"So be it by demand of the council."

"So be it says We."

* * *

Beast Boy sat on the bed in Raven's room, a cloud of dust curling up around him. He plopped back, opening the book that he was holding and flipping through the pages curiously. The whole deal with Trigon had proved that resurrection was possible, right? But would it be considered resurrection if her body was still alive? He flipped the pages, frowning. It was in a language he didn't understand.

So was the next book.

And the next book.

And the next book.

GOD!

Beast Boy tossed another book onto the shelf. So many different languages! Did Raven really know how to read all of them? How was he supposed to help her if he couldn't even read her books? How could he find that spell?

That spell…

The one that that girl had used…

That spell…

That was it! He didn't have to FIND the spell, he already knew where it was! Raven had dropped on the ground when Trigon was resurrected!

Hurriedly Beast Boy jumped off of the bed, heading to the crack in the ground that once led to Hell itself.

* * *

Raven watched Terra frowning. She needed to tell him. She needed to tell him what she saw. She needed to tell him that something wasn't right. Something wasn't right at all.

She couldn't be Terra.

She wasn't Terra.

So who was she?

* * *

Beast Boy dusted off the old piece of parchment and unfolded it. Much to his relief, it was in English… somewhat. He could read it… but he had never seen some of these words in his life.

And that strange circle in the middle of the page… was he supposed to draw that? Where? He sighed. Maybe something in Raven's room could clear it up… After all, he hadn't gone through all of her books yet… maybe there was one he could read after all?

* * *

Death sighed as she hovered over Titans Tower. She hated field trips to dimensions with TIME, or at least dimensions with time this fast. She felt so rushed. She felt like she needed to be somewhere else CONSTANTLY.

"Let it happen." She muttered to herself. "Let her make a mistake, then punish her for it. She won't learn if you just stop her."

Death shook her head, her black curls flying.

"Bull shit if you ask me."

"No one asked you."

Death rolled her eyes. Damned omnipresence. She hated the council. REALLY hated the council.

She twirled the scythe in her hands out of boredom. She wanted to see exactly what would happen. She wanted to see what exactly she'd be punishing Raven for.

Still… she couldn't shake that rushed feeling of having to be somewhere else.

"God! Is this what all these damned mortals have to put up with?"

She fidgeted. Again.

* * *

Beast Boy felt cold wash over him and a warmth enter his mind.

"Raven?"

"Beast Boy, listen to me. I have to make this quick or I'll drain your body heat again."

"A-hah! So I was right!"

"Yeah, yeah. Brag about it later. I just have something really important to tell you."

"Well, go ahead."

"The girl you think is Terra… she isn't Terra."

"Look, I'm sorry I haven't broken up with her yet, but that doesn't mean you have to…"

"NO! I'm serious!"

"Then who is she?"

"… I don't know. Just… Just trust me on this one, okay? It's not safe to have her in the Tower."

"I don't know, Rae…"

"Ask her something that only she could know. See what she says. Oh… and put that resurrection spell down now before you force me to hurt you. You don't know how dangerous it is to mess with Death."

* * *

"Are you sure that it will happen today?"

"Have We ever been wrong?"

"No, but your view of time has always sucked. 'It has both happened and not yet been'."

"You mock what you cannot possibly begin to comprehend."

Death rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Hey, Terra." Beast Boy said, catching up with her as she headed down the hallway.

"Oh, hey Beast Boy! Are you okay? You've kind of been gone all day."

Beast Boy shrugged. "I've been thinking, that's all. Anyway… I think you're right. Maybe I should let go of this whole Raven thing. It's really starting to get to me."

Terra smiled, hugging him.

"I'm so glad. You'll feel better, I promise."

Beast Boy returned the hug, nodding. "Yeah… but right now I think I need some comfort food."

Terra pulled away and smiled.

"I'll break out the ice cream!"

Beast Boy shook his head.

"Actually… I was thinking more along the lines of apple pie."

"Apple pie?"

Beast Boy nodded with a smile.

"Yup! Do you think you could take me to our little pie place, please? I don't remember how we go there last time."

Terra's face seemed to pale, even as she smiled.

"Sure, Beast Boy. Just let me go get changed."

* * *

"Not long now. Stop swinging you scythe around like that. You're acting like a child."

Death laughed at the comment, continuing to swing her scythe out of boredom and the fact that she knew it was driving the council insane.

* * *

"Terra? Are you ready yet?" Beast Boy asked, knocking on her door. "It's been almost and hour and…"

"Just a minute!"

Beast Boy frowned, tapping his foot impatiently. The door slid open.

"Can you come in for a second, Beast Boy? I can't decide what to do with my hair…"

Beast Boy stepped through the door.

"I don't see what it matters. I like it just fine down…"

The door shut behind him. Suddenly Beast Boy felt trapped.

"You don't know where the little pie place is, do you?"

Beast Boy turned to face Terra, who had an even smile on her face as she leaned up against the door.

"Because you're not Terra."

"Congratulations to Raven for figuring it out." Terra said, stepping away from the door and turning her eyes to another part of the room, just behind Beast Boy. "I always wanted your life big sister. I finally had it, too. All of your life. I must say, it was much easier to fool the Titans that it was to try and get daddy's attention. And much more rewarding. I finally got what I want. You can't stand that, can you sister? First you took daddy away, and now this."

Beast Boy turned, trying to see Raven. He was grabbed from behind by the fake Terra, something pressing against his neck until it pierced his skin, causing a small stream of blood flow.

"But you're dead, Raven. You're dead and you took you fucking powers with you! If I can't have him, I at least want those. If I can't stay here, I want to have enough power to rule Hell in your place. Give me your powers, sister, or I'll take his and maybe the little Tamaranean's as well. They are both blood powers, aren't they? You do know how one can obtain someone else's blood powers, right?"

Sade smiled sadistically, pressing the dagger deeper into the side of Beast Boy's neck.

"You eat their hearts."

Beast boy transformed into a rat, scurrying out of Sade's grasp and across the floor to the window. When he got there, he transformed back into a human, trying to pry open the window. His best attempts failed, though, as something surged through him the moment he touched the window sill.

"Where do you think you're going? I've put up magic shields all around this room. Nothing can get out. Dead or alive."

Beast Boy gulped. A familiar cold touch flowed through him.

"Don't worry, Beast Boy. I'm not going to let her hurt you."

"You can't give up your powers, Rae. We'd never be able to talk to each other again if you did that!"

"Who said anything about giving up my powers?"

The cold melted away as her presence left his mind.

A black energy flowed through the room, as if seeking something. A magic circle was drawn on the floor in chalk around the edges of the floor, casting the magic shields. Salt, candles incense… Everything that was used in the casting of the shield was thrown from its place. The chalk circle was ruined as a cup of water was spilt and a bowl of salt rolled across the floor. Everyone of the candles went out all at once as a black energy smothered them.

"No." Sade hissed, rushing at Beast Boy with her dagger raised. "You won't take this away from me!"

Beast Boy ducked at the dagger came down and a black forced used Sade's momentum against her, giving her a shove in the direction she was already going, tossing her through the window.

* * *

Death couldn't help but smile as she watched Sade crunch against the ground. It was very funny, actually. Raven didn't really kill her, just gave her a helpful little push. Sade almost killed herself. She just couldn't believe that the council would get there panties in a twist because one ghost killed one living being. So what? She was a guardian. She was protecting the one she was assigned to.

"You know very well that this isn't the only reason we sent you, Death."

Death rolled her eyes.

"I know. A death caused. A death reversed."

"Both break the rules. We must enforce the rules."

"It shall be done, for the council commands it."

"As We demand it, it shall be done."

It didn't mean she had to agree.

((Wee. Such a weird chapter. Hope it's not toooo horrible. Get read, though. 'Cause in the next chapter, a death is reversed and the rules are enforced! Oh yeah… and review!))


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. There. Boring simple and dull. Do you like it? 'Cause it's all your getting:-P

A/N: Blargh! Sorry guys, I've been writing other stories. I just didn't want to force this story and nothing was coming so… yeah… Sorry! Gomen Nasai!

-Chapter 39-

Beast Boy walked into the simple hospital room, his eyes slowly adjusting to all the white that reflected the bright light of the room.

_"Don't even think about it, Beast Boy. You don't understand how dangerous resurrection spell are…"_

Beast Boy looked down at the still form of Raven, brushing the hair from her eyes as the voice rang through his head.

_"You could die… or worse. Spells like this could tear your soul apart…"_

_Beast Boy flipped through the book, comparing the information to the unfolded piece of parchment._

_"I love you, Rae. I don't care how dangerous it is."_

"Beast Boy…" 

Beast Boy set down the bag, unzipping it carefully.

_"Please… Don't do this. I'm not worth the risk."_

_"To me you are."_

He unloaded some candles, a bowl, some salt, a bottle of water, some incense… He smoothed the paper out over his knee and looked at the list again.

_"This is against everything, Beast Boy. Spells like this alter the balance. There's bound to be consequences…"_

He began to do what it said, taking extra care with everything.

_"If one thing were to go wrong…"_

He pulled out another sheet of notes, one in his own handwriting. He only hoped that he translated the words correctly.

_"Beast Boy… Don't…"_

"Vui gohuc labebc za lul ruhn."

"_If anything happened to you…"_

"Huy vui yer leba ohm la za." 

_"I'd never forgive myself."_

"Oyosah huy ohm la za."

Something like a wind filled the room and the lit candles flickered with the sudden force. Beast Boy dropped the paper, stunned. The lights began to tremble and flicker as the wind seemed to take a color. The blue wind began to form a figure, but never made it so far.

Beast Boy gasped as the wind rushed towards him. He stumbled backwards and tripped, hitting the floor. His eyes went wide as the wind lunged at him and succeeded. The blue misty wind crept into his mouth as he gasped again and in that one moment… everything went quiet.

The lights returned and the candle's flame became steady again.

Beast Boy blinked, rubbing his eyes. Slowly he stood, grabbing his stomach as it lurched. He coughed, tossing his hand over his mouth. It felt like something was caught in his throat. Something that seemed to swim through his stomach as well.

He staggered over to Raven's bed and looked down at her. She hadn't moved. No flicker in her eyes, no tossing of her hair, nothing. He sighed, licking his lips. Had he done something wrong?

He grabbed her hand, stroking the top of it with his thumb. He bent over her, her words ringing through his head.

_"If one thing were to go wrong…"_

"Sorry, Rae. Guess I didn't do it right, huh?"

He reached up, moving the oxygen mask so he could bend over her one more time and…

His lips pressed against hers.

Suddenly whatever was stuck in his throat lunged up and through his mouth again, into Raven's instead. He gasped and tried to pull away, but something held him there. Soon whatever it was was gone from his body and he hit the ground, gasping.

Suddenly all the candles went out, small wisps of smoke drifting up from the blackened wicks.

A coughing noise came from the bed and Beast Boy's head shot up, stunned. The coughing continued. Beast Boy stood, watching Raven carefully. Her eyes seemed to squeeze shut even tighter before snapping open. Her body shot up into a sitting position before bending over further, coughing again.

Beast Boy ran over, wrapping his arms around her gently.

Slowly the coughing ceased as Raven's head rested against his chest. His hand went to her hair, stroking the soft violet strands lovingly. His breath caught in his throat and tears began to form in his eyes as he held her. Slowly her face turned up to him, her amethyst eyes looking up at him in disbelief. Beast Boy laughed as the tears poured from his eyes and suddenly it was like she had never died at all.

Raven flung herself onto him, hugging as tightly as she could with the restraint of the IV. Then, just as quickly, she pulled away and slapped him.

"I can't believe you did this! After all the warnings I gave you!"

Beast Boy was stunned for a moment, his hand rising the meet where she had hit him.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Raven smiled, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes. It did."

She wrapped her arms around him again, kissing him softly.

"You did great, Beast Boy. I'm proud of you."

He smiled and held her. Time seemed to stand still for a moment before the door slid open and a nurse stepped in with a clipboard.

They both watched as the clipboard hit the floor.

* * *

"A death reversed."

"Indeed."

"You know what must be done."

"Yeah yeah, notify those who need to know and make Raven's newfound life a literal living Hell."

* * *

((Sorry this is soooo short. I was going to make it longer, but I thought I would post SOMETHING since I'm not going to write for a while. I'm getting a new Baby Sister today! My step-mom just went into labor! I'll see ya when I see ya!)) 


	41. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: God, don't tell me that you don't honestly know this by now. I don't own Teen Titans and I'm sick of saying it! SAVE TEEN TITANS!

A/N: Yes. Sources say that Cartoon Network is planning on canceling Teen Titans after this season. SAVE TEEN TITANS!

ANYWAY… Sorry about the wait. In addition to the New Baby, some other stuff came up with a few of my friends that involves me spending an 1 ½ hours a day in a hospital until at least Monday. Don't ask. You don't want to know.

-Chapter 40-

It had been only a week since Raven's revival, but everything had fallen so neatly into a normal routine that it seemed like she had never been gone at all. This routine involved the infamous dinner argument… Meat or Tofu?

An argument that was abruptly interrupted by a large 'bang' and the smell of sulfur.

If you've never seen a messenger demon, you're missing out. They are a rather funny sight. A little red humanoid with a snake-like tail and even worse fangs that smells of death, decay, and smoldering sulfur… dressed in a blue and gold bell-hop uniform and carrying a oh-too-large roll of parchment.

Everything ((and I mean everything)) was immediately dropped, leaving a rather horrid tofu-meat-mess on the other-wise soy-milk soaked floor.

Raven sighed, rolling her eyes. Beast Boy groaned. The others just stared blankly.

The demon cleared his throat.

"I bring a message for Your Majesty, the Queen of Hell, Raven Roth."

Raven threw back her hood.

"You mean Princess of Hell."

The demon frowned, obviously annoyed at being corrected by a half-demon.

"No. I mean the Queen of Hell. She was Trigon's official heir at the time of his death, an thereby the now Queen."

Raven walked up to the messenger, leaning on the other side of the counter facing to the living room where he stood.

"Well? Speak away, messenger, before I loose interest."

The messenger blinked, a bit stunned.

"The message is for the Queen, not a half-demon. Now fetch her."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"You're not from my ring of Hell, are you?"

The messenger smiled, showing a jagged row of yellow and red teeth.

"I am a messenger for all rings and all dimensions. I'm not from any one in particular."

Raven nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm only going to say this once, messenger, so listen well. I AM Raven Roth."

The messenger's mouth fell open.

"You? A half-demon?"

Raven's eye twitched.

"I suggest you speak with more respect, stray."

"Stray?"

"Speak."

The messenger took a moment to regain his composure before looking at the other Titans.

"This message is for you alone."

Raven rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"I ordered you to speak, servant. Now speak."

Clearing his throat one more time, the demon untied the black ribbon and unrolled the parchment.

"To Your Majesty, Queen Raven of Hell. You are hereby summoned to fulfill your duties as Queen in Hell. Upon reading this message you shall have one hour to say your good-byes and pack before being transported to said dimension. Signed, The Council."

The demon rolled up the parchment. It took a moment for the words to sink in.

"The Council?"

The demon nodded.

"THE Council."

The demon nodded again. Raven sighed.

"Shit."

Beast Boy stepped around the counter, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Rae? What Council?"

The demon shook his head. "No no no. We must not speak of the Council to mortals."

Raven flashed him an angry glare.

He shut up.

"It's nothing. You'll find out when you die."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.

Robin coughed, disturbing the otherwise silent moment.

Raven turned back to the demon.

"Well, you're a messenger. Deliver this one to the Council. N-O."

The demon's jaw dropped.

"No?"

"That's what it spells, yes."

"No one says no to the Council!"

"Obviously, I do."

"I can't deliver a message to the Council!"

"Oh, but they can deliver to you?"

"No. Their dimension is too high for me. Death gave me the notice."

"Then take me to Death. I would rather like to speak with her."

The messenger licked his lips and shook his head before vanishing in a cloud of smoke, a crack and the smell of sulfur following.

Immediately Raven hit the ground.

_Raven!_

_Is she okay?_

_Raven, speak to me._

_Wake up, Rae._

Wake up… 

"You wanted to speak with me?" Said a small girl, one hand on her hip while the other one clasped a scythe.

"That was quick." Raven commented, dusting off her knees as she stood up.

"Timeless dimensions. God, don't make me explain them to you again."

Raven shook her head. "No, I remember."

Death nodded, relieved. "So, what's up rule-breaker?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Rule-breaker?"

"Yeah. Oh, come on… you know… basic stuff. Thou shalt not kill… Thou shalt not rise from the dead… Stuff like that."

Raven shrugged. "Whatever… but in my defense, she fell out the window pretty much on her own and I did protest the whole back from the dead thing."

Death nodded. "Yeah yeah. Anyway. What are you here for?"

"I'm resigning the throne or whatever. I don't want to rule Hell. Find someone else."

Death shook her head. "No can do. It's your punishment."

"Punishment?"

"Uh yeah! Thou shalt not… oh, don't make me repeat it."

"Oh, great. You know what? I'm not buying it. Tell the Council that they can shove their little punishment up their ass. I'm not going to Hell and that's final."

Death stared blankly for a moment before bursting out into hysterical laughter.

"Up the ass… oh, that's funny! You know, being that I've been dealing with people since the beginning of time, you'd think that nothing would surprise me… but you did! You really got me there! No one, NO ONE, has EVER spoken to the council like that. You've got guts kid. I like that. I like you. In fact, I've been wanting to tell the Council to shove it for centuries! I'll deliver your message personally…"

She smiled like a kid that just blamed the marker on the wall on her sibling and got away with it. She clicked her scythe on the not-so-solid blackness and vanished while muttering excitedly…

"Up the ass… oh, that's great…"

A few toe-taps later Death was back, laughing hysterical.

"Oh, You should've been there. They flipped. They really flipped! 'How rude!' they said! Just 'how rude!'."

Raven tapped her foot some more, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well? What did they say?"

" 'How Rude!' Weren't you listening?"

"Nothing else?"

"Nope. Nothing else. The punishment stands."

With another click of the scythe, he blackness vanished, taking Death with it.

_Rae, wake up!_

Raven woke up to find everyone else standing over her. Beast Boy was the first to speak.

"What the hell was all that for?"

Ravens sighed and stood up, brushing herself off.

"Hell is exactly what it was for. I must go…" Raven's voice took on a tone of sarcasm and anger. "_Fulfill my royal duties._" She snorted rudely. "Load of bull."

"You're leaving? But you just came back and…"

Raven put a finger on Beast Boy's lips.

"Yes, I'm leaving, but I promise that I'll be in contact, you'll see. I'll find some way to get past this, okay?"

Beast Boy flashed her his sad puppy dog eyes and she sighed.

"Trust me."

He nodded and she pressed her lips to his in a good bye kiss.

All Beast Boy could think about was the small box on his dresser…

Skirts billowing around her in flowing layers, Raven stepped out onto the stage that the throne sat on, watching the audience on demons bow before her, murmuring all the while.

As Raven took her spot on the throne, all she could think about was the ceremony…

((ARGH! Took me long enough, eh? Wasn't even a good chapter…))


	42. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: Ah, you know.

A/N: Wee!

-Chapter 41-

Raven closed the door to her room behind her, listening for noises on the outside. After a long while of hearing nothing, she made her way over to the dresser. Using the flame of the candles she lit a long stick of incense, sticking it in a holder in front of the mirror so that the thin line of gray smoke cut down the middle of her reflection.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

And just like that, her body hit the ground, limp.

Beast Boy sat at the counter, watching the marshmallows in his hot cocoa melt. He just couldn't stop thinking about her…

Cyborg leaned down over the other side, taking the cup from Beast Boy. Beast Boy responded by simply looking up.

"Have you been listening to a word I've said?"

"You've been talking?"

"No, but I figured that if I did, you wouldn't respond anyway."

Cyborg gave a brief laugh at his own joke, but Beast Boy didn't laugh. He just forced a weak smile and leaned his head into his hand.

"I bring her back from the dead just so she can get taken away again. It's no fair. I had kept our promise, too."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"Promise?"

Beast Boy nodded, but didn't really enlighten him. Instead he just said "It's on my dresser. You can look at it if you want, but please don't loose it… I mean it doesn't really matter but at the same time… I'd like to have it in case she came back… It's the little black box. We promised, back when we were gone and all… I was waiting…"

He sighed and grabbed his cup back to down another swallow. It was getting cold. He made a face of disgust as Cyborg got up, curious to see this 'black box'.

It was movie night. No one cared. Not even Beast Boy. Even so, they sat on the couch and Starfire decided on a nice documentary for them all to watch.

That is, until the air in front of them shimmered and took form.

The air turned black first, like a shadowy mist in the middle of the room.

Slowly the mist became a girl clad in a long billowing dress.

Then the blackness gave way to color and it was then that they could tell that it was Raven.

"R… Rae…?" Beast Boy was the first to stand, he rose to touch her, but his hand passed right through her.

"It's an astral projection." Raven said simply, quickly. "It's really hard to maintain and my body is completely helpless right now, so our visits need to be quick."

Beast Boy nodded, even though he didn't understand an ounce about astral projections.

"How have you been, Rae? What's it like now that Trigon's dead? Do you have the same room? Can astral projections take objects back with them? Because I have this thing and…"

Raven put up a hand.

"One at a time, I can only keep up with so much. I'm fine, all things considered. Not much has changed here, everyone still hates me and wants me dead Queen or not. Yes, I kept the same room. And no, astral projections can't even lift objects."

Beast Boy nodded.

"Anything else?" Raven asked and Beast Boy shook his head, nodded, then shook his head again.

Raven smiled in return.

The smile faded as she seemed to hear something. She glanced over her shoulder, then back to Beast Boy.

"I have to go. I promise that I'll visit at least once a week until I can figure this out, okay?"

Beast Boy nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too…"

Raven stood up, dusting off her dress and blowing out the candle quickly. The door behind her slid open just in time to see her doing nothing but brushing her hair. She turned to face the demon who entered.

Quickly the demon bowed, her long hair laying almost flat on the ground.

"My Queen, I have been sent to remind you that the first ceremony begins in an hour."

Raven sighed, setting down the brush.

"I understand. You may leave."

The door shut as the demon left and Raven rested a head in her hands. She would have to go through with it after all. Any ruler had to bear an heir… Her head shot up. That was it! She may have to go through several ceremonies for it to work, but it would work. All she needed was some sort of birth control…

"Aw shit." Her head hit the dresser again. Somehow, she didn't think that birth control would be on sale at the local Hell pharmacy.

But she did pack her herbs…

Her head popped back up again. She had little less than an hour. She had to consult her books.

"Did ya get a chance to look at it?" Beast Boy asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice as he spoke to Cyborg. Cyborg nodded, smiling.

"Yeah man!"

"Well? What do you think? Is it too much?"

Cyborg placed a heavy metal hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Beast Boy, she'll love it."

((Wee.))


	43. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Hell, it' s been so long since I worked on this thing... I probably don't even own this fan fic anymore.

((A/N... OMG! Look who's back! -Dodges angry reviewer's tomatoes!- I know! I know! I'm sorry, honest! I just... lost touch with the story. Everything I wrote was cheesy and I ended up... quitting. But now I'm back! -rubs hands together- Let's see if I can still do this thing!))

-Chapter 42-

"I have an idea."

Normally when a sentence started like that, people would groan. However, this was Raven. And Raven was currently the Queen of Hell. She didn't want to be, but the all-mighty council had denied her resignation. 'Punishment', they called it. So any idea that involved Raven not being the Queen of Hell any longer was welcome. Well, as long as it was Raven who thought it up. Beast Boy's ideas weren't as welcome.

It was during one of her weekly five minute-or-less meetings with the Titans that Raven brought up this idea.

"It'll take a while, so you'll have to be patient. It's not pleasant, either, but please just bear with me on this."

Okay, so this wasn't sounding quite as promising as everyone had hoped.

"Hell needs to be ruled. It needs an heir."

Everyone nodded. This was obvious. This is what started everything, after all.

"If a ruler cannot give an heir, they are overthrown."

Realization was slowly dawning, but confusion was still present.

"If I cannot bear a child, they will replace me. I'll be free to come home. So, I'm taking an herbal 'birth control', if you will."

"Herbal Birth Control?"

"Some herbs are safe for an adult, but cannot be taken if you're pregnant or may become pregnant. If I use them in my tea, I can't become pregnant."

"But…" Beast Boy had his protest. A very obvious protest. He didn't bother to finish his pouting sentence.

"I know Beast Boy. I did say that it wasn't going to be pleasant."

"You shouldn't have to do these… ceremonies… without me. Can't I come over?"

"No!" Her exclamation was final. Beast Boy was obviously not pleased. Raven sighed. "Just bear with me, okay? I'll be back as soon as possible."

Her face changed suddenly. Her nose scrunched. Everyone waited for her to say something.

"That's odd."

"What? What happened?"

Raven shook her head, her eyes focusing on blank space with concentration. She looked confused.

"Something changed. I'll be right back."

With that, Raven vanished. Beast Boy sighed and sunk into the cushions of the couch.

"I don't like this." He muttered. "Not only is it going to take forever for her to come home, but she's also going to be forced to – I don't even want to think about it."

Cyborg rested a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. She'll be back as soon as she can and then everything will go back to normal. Well, almost normal."

"What do you mean 'almost normal'?" Beast Boy asked, a little frustrated.

"Well back in the good old 'normal' days Raven didn't have a mming mm mmmr mmingmmr" The last part of that sentence was muffled by Beast Boy's hands.

"Hush! What if she comes back while you're talking about that?"

"Hey, you said that you two talked about it already. That means it isn't a secret."

"It IS a secret! She doesn't know that I have it!"

There was a soft sound as Raven reappeared in the living room.

"Have what?"

"Nothing!" Beast Boy chimed quickly. Raven didn't push it. She seemed to distracted, worried, to push it.

"There's a problem guys."

"Problem?" Beast Boy asked, not knowing if he really wanted to know.

"It appears that I have been assassinated."

The whole room groaned.

"I'll go get the spell." Beast Boy muttered, standing up.

"And how are you going to cast the spell when my body is in Hell?"

When he turned to Raven her arms were crossed, her toes tapping impatiently as if they even felt the ground underneath them.

"Good question." He scratched his head. "What happens now?"

"Nothing, I suppose. I guess I just hang around the tower in astral form until Death finally hunts me down and takes me back to limbo."

"That's it? We're not even going to try to bring you back?" Beast Boy's voice got louder with every sentence. This was outrageous! He goes through all the trouble to bring her back to life only to have her assassinated in Hell?

"Got any other suggestions? You can't get to Hell to retrieve my body. I can't retrieve my body. There's nothing that can be done."

It was true. He knew it was true. Since when did dying become such a casual conversation anyway? Okay, so technically there was Slade coming back from the dead and Terra coming back from the dead… And Raven already came back from the dead… but did that really make this whole death thing a discussion to be had over dinner?

"There has to be something in one of your books…"

"Resurrection spells are dangerous. I won't let you cast another one."

She crossed her arms over her chest in an authoritative manner. Beast Boy just stuck his tongue out at her. Starfire giggled, which got a weird look from Robin. What was so funny? That Beast Boy was sticking his tongue out at his now dead (for a second time) girlfriend? Odd maybe. But, funny?

"You can't stop me, you're a ghost." He said, crossing his arms over his on chest.

"Want to test that theory?" She challenged.

"Why not?" There was a pause as they stared at each other, each with their arms crossed over their chests, each with a stubborn look on their face. Then Beast Boy's stubbornly serious face cracked, his lips turning up in a smile. Raven didn't budge, even though she was worried as to why he would be smiling.

"Race you to your room!" He screamed suddenly before turning into a green cheetah. In a matter of seconds, before anyone could register what happened, the cheetah was long gone from the room. Raven stood their for a moment, blinking, before she even realized what he had said.

"My room? Woah, wait up! You can't even read those books!" She called after him. With a 'poof' she was gone from the living room.

Starfire giggled again.

Robin blinked, stunned.

Cyborg laughed. This made Starfire laugh. Which made Robin look even more confused.

"What is everyone laughing about?"

He wondered if he had missed something. Didn't either of them realize that this meant Raven was dead? Again?

"They are so adorable together!" Starfire proclaimed happily.

Cyborg was laughing to the point of tears streaming out of his human eye.

"They act like their already married! He hasn't even given her the ring yet!" Cyborg blurted out the facts without even thinking.

"Wait… he's going to propose?" Robin asked, stunned.

Starfire cheered happily. She had watched many of those romantic movies lately and actually understood what this 'proposal' meant.

"Oh they are to be 'tying the knot'!" She exclaimed.

Her scream was so loud that both Robin and Cyborg jumped to cover her mouth.

"Shh! It's a surprise!"

"You're not going to find anything."

"Then why are you getting all defensive? There's something here, isn't there?"

"Not in a language you can read."

"I have a feeling that you underestimate my intelligence."

"No… I'm just pretty sure that 'Azarathian' isn't taught in the local high schools."

He flipped through the books on the shelves as Raven stood behind him, tapping her toes impatiently. It was funny, actually. She could tap her toes all she wanted and they still didn't make a noise.

"I've brought back the dead before, I can do it again!"

"Don't get so cocky."

"I'm not being cocky. I'm being confident. There's a difference."

"Not a big one."

"Still a difference." He muttered, shuffling through even more books. As Raven had said, he didn't understand a single one of them. "Do you really know this many different languages?"

Raven sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I can read all of them. I know 5 different languages, 2 of which don't even exist on Earth."

"Then read them to me. Show me the spell. I won't mess it up, honest!"

"There is no spell. Not one like that. And even if there were, it's too dangerous."

"I don't care about that."

"But I do!"

There was an awkward silence while they questioned what to say to each other. It was Raven who spoke first.

"There's nothing you can do. Not this time. I'll stay here as long as I can. I'd rather you not spend that time obsessing over books and spells."

Beast Boy sighed. She was right. He just wished that she wasn't.

((I've cut out a lot of the original storyline because I decided that it sucked. Which means that there should only be a few more chapters until this fan fic is complete. Muwahaha!))


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